Sohma Summer Fun!
by Neko-Chan in Wonderland
Summary: [COMPLETE]It looks like everyone, including Tohru's friends, and Yuki's student council friends, is going on vacation to the Sohma summer home! Oh what a summer it will be... Drama, romance, and pure insanity! Includes every pairing possible. [SPOILERS]
1. Vacation Plans

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Fruits Basket, but maybe Takaya-sensei will trade me it for my manga… (hands her a battered sketchbook)

**A/N:** Yeah, I'm at it again! I've been thinking to do this for a while, but I virused up my computer... again... (sweat drop)

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"AWRIGHT! It's summer vacation! It's time to PARTY!" Uotani excitedly punched the desk with her fist. "This time, I've got a whole month off my part-time jobs!"

"That's great, Arisa." Hanajima packed her things into her bag. "I don't have any plans for summer, either. What about you, Tohru?"

Tohru realized she was being spoken to. "Well, that is… I'm going to the Sohma's summer home with Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun, and everybody… I'm sorry I won't be able to spend the summer with you two…" Tohru's eyes were cast down and she fiddled with her uniform uncertainly.

"It's okay Tohru, just go have a good time. We'll be fine." Hanajima smiled and put her hand on Tohru's shoulder.

"Hey! Tohru! You coming?" Kyo called from the door of the classroom.

"Go on Tohru. Do whatever you want." Uotani smiled at her as well.

"H-Hai…" Tohru rushed off to join Kyo and the others.

"She's been spending a lot of time with those Sohma people…" Uotani observed as she watched Tohru bounce away. "It's going to be a long summer without you, Tohru."

"Yes… It will be, but if she's happy we're happy, right?" Hanajima gazed tenderly at Tohru's receding figure.

"Right." Uotani confirmed. She paused a second. "Hey, do you think orangey is her boyfriend?" She asked suddenly.

"No… she would have told us if he was… but I do think they have feelings for each other…" Hanajima said dangerously. "Competition…"

"Yeah… Good luck Tohru, hope you find some summer love!" Uotani called, after Tohru was out of earshot.

The two friends laughed and began their walk home.

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Tohru was kneeling in front of Shigure, who looked up from his newspaper to ask her what was up.

Tohru hesitated before asking nervously. "Well, you see… you know how we're going to spend summer vacation at the Sohma home? Well… um… my friends… I won't get to see them if I go… so will you let me please… bring them along? Even if it's only for part of the time! I would really like it if they could come!" She paused. "Oh, but… oh I'm asking too much aren't I? Ah, forgive me! I'm taking advantage of your hospitality!" Tohru started apologizing frantically, until Shigure put his hand in front of her face to signal her to stop.

"Slow down, Tohru-kun! It's okay! Your friends can come with us. We'll just have to be extra careful, okay? I'm sure it will be more fun with them, and Kyo and Yuki will be happy too!" Shigure laughed and went back to his newspaper, just as Kyo walked in.

"What? You mean that gothic freak and Yankee bitch is going to come too?" He yelled. "This is going to be one damn long summer…" Kyo muttered as he shuffled away.

Tohru was unsure if she should bring them if Kyo didn't like it, but then just shrugged and smiled. She didn't think he _really_ hated them. She went upstairs to phone her friends to tell them about the arrangement, hoping they could come.

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"Hey, Machi!" Yuki called to the brown-haired girl after the final student council meeting had ended.

She turned around. "Yuki? What… What is it?"

"You know how I told you we should do something together this summer?" Yuki asked her. She nodded and he continued. "Well, my cousins, Honda-san, and I are going to the Sohma summer home for part of the summer. I was wondering if you wanted to come along as well?" When she stared at him, he added nervously, "Um… I'm inviting you to come on vacation with me... I hope it doesn't sound too weird or…" His voice trailed off.

Machi shook her head. "It… it's fine. I would like to go… but… I'm not sure that being around so many people… I don't like it…" She looked away from him.

Yuki laughed. "If that's all you're worried about, it's fine! They'll leave you alone if I ask them to! Plus, I think you should get out more…" Machi opened her mouth as if to say something, but Yuki spoke first. "So, it's settled then! You'll be coming to the summer home with us! We'll pick you up first thing Monday morning, so be ready by nine!" Yuki was about to say goodbye, but something—more like some_one_ stopped him.

"YUN-YUN! YOU CAN'T TAKE MACHI ON DIRTY ESCAPADES LIKE THIS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!" Manabe came over and slung his arm around Yuki's shoulder.

An anger mark twitched on Yuki's forehead. "Don't turn everything perverted…" He said, irritated.

"Aw, don't be mean! So… Where's my invitation? If I don't go," Manabe put an arm protectively around Machi. "Neither does she." He concluded flatly, although there was a prominent hint of teasing in his tone.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! A vacation! Kimi wants to come too!" A voice whimpered behind them. Kimi was bouncing up and down, hand in the air like a kindergartener waiting to be called on.

"Alright! Lets just get grumpy ole Nao-chan to come, and it'll be School Defense Corps, vacation special!" Manabe's eyes sparkled.

"I'M NOT GOING." Came a monotonous voice from behind them.

"Aw, you're no fun!" Manabe whined.

"Shut up, I already have plans to go on vacation with my family. And even if I didn't, I wouldn't go with you morons anyway." Naoto replied angrily. With that he stalked away.

"Aw, that's too bad. Oh well, at least we're all going! Yun-Yun's picking us up nine o'clock sharp on Monday, so be ready!" Manabe called as he also departed.

"OKAY!" Kimi danced away, waving at everyone.

After they had left Yuki and Machi were quiet, as Yuki leaned on a wall in sheer defeat. _I can't believe this… I didn't agree to any of it… they invited themselves…_

This was going to be one _interesting_ summer.

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So, you like? My second serious Fruits Basket fan fiction, the others are all one-shots. This one is going to be a lot more humorous than my last one, Together Forever. Summer fun for everyone! (Happy dance).

AND MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW!


	2. How To Get Idiots Into A Car

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket. I want some Ramen… (I don't own ramen either)

**A/N:** Yay, chapter two! Yep, my quick-updating skills will forever reign superior! MWAHAHAHA! But lets not get too comfortable; school starts in just a month! I won't be able to update _nearly_ as quick then. Anyway, lets get on to the story. And I really do want some ramen…

* * *

Monday morning started off bright and early. Shigure's house bustled with activity, as the four of them did their last minute packing and preparations. Tohru made onigiri for the ride, and Kyo was doing some morning training. Yuki was doing last minute packing, and checking his watch every five minutes. God knows what Shigure was doing.

Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure we taking one car, in which they were taking Kisa and Hiro. After finally getting his driver's license, Yuki was going to drive a minivan they had rented. This one would hold Tohru and her friends, as well as Manabe, Machi, and Kimi. Momiji and Haru were going to meet them at the house. Each had gotten their own transportation.

When Hatori and Ayame arrived, the six split into threes and loaded into their own cars. Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure were going off to pick up Hiro and Kisa, while the other three had their own stops to make.

First was Hanajima's house, at which Uotani had slept over, so they both came in at once. The two piled in the seats furthest back, because Tohru was a bit anxious about sitting up front, because it always made her nervous, and Kyo had refused to sit next to Yuki the whole ride, and the two fully occupied the middle seats.

Then they went to pick up Machi, Kimi, and Manabe, who had all met up at Manabe's house that morning. When they opened the doors to the car, there was an obvious problem they had overlooked. Space. Even with the minivan, there wasn't enough space.

"I WANNA DRIVE!" That was the first thing that came out of Manabe's mouth.

"No! You'll kill us all!" Yuki protested.

"Come on, please? I have a permit! And you have a license! It's perfect! Pretty please? Just halfway?" Manabe begged, giving Yuki puppy eyes.

"Fine! Fine! But only halfway! This still doesn't solve our problem, though." Now it was Yuki, Kimi, and Machi, who were standing outside.

"KIMI WANTS THE FRONT SEAT!" Kimi burst out suddenly, and she climbed up front.

"H-Hey! I was going to sit there!" Yuki was getting exasperated.

The other four in the car were just staring and sweat dropping at the situation. Who knew Yuki had such _strange_ friends?

"Fine." Yuki admitted defeat and he and Machi now stared at the almost full minivan.

"Looks like someone's going to have to sit on a lap…" Uotani said, sighing.

"F-fine. Come on Tohru…" Kyo turned red, and moved his arms from where they were on his lap.

"W-what?" It took a minute for Tohru to catch on. "O-Oh! Um… if it's okay with you…" She got up and shifted positions to sit on Kyo's lap.

They were both extremely red and quiet until Kyo whispered into Tohru's ear. "We have to be careful, okay? It would be bad if I transformed…" Tohru nodded.

"What's this? Two lovers sharing secret conversations?" Manabe chuckled from the front seat.

"N-NO!" Kyo turned red and turned angrily to the boy. "Who the hell ARE you anyway?"

"Manabe Kekeru, nice to meet you! You must be the famous Kyo Sohma, and this must be your girlfriend, the lovely Honda Tohru-san!" Manabe grinned.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Kyo burst, both his and Tohru's faces the color of beets.

"Really, then how come she's sitting on your lap? Oh, I see how it is? Neither of you have had the guts to confess your feelings yet?"

It's funny how Manabe hit the bull's-eye straight out.

"YOU CREEP! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Kyo was steaming at this point.

"Ah! Um!" Tohru was now frantic, and the whole care was filled with chaos, Hanajima teasing Manabe with her waves and Kyo yelling.

("What is wrong with these people?" Uotani muttered as she sank deeper into her seat.)

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP?" the car went silent as Yuki spoke, his voice echoing through the small space.

"Kyo, be careful, and you know what I mean." Yuki said briefly, and only Tohru knew what he had meant as Kyo nodded in agreement (for once).

Machi climbed in back next to Hanajima, and Yuki took his place next to Tohru and Kyo. He slid the door closed and gave out one last sigh. "Looks like we're ready to go. Hey Manabe, I'll give you directions as we go, okay?"

Manabe nodded and started the car. For the first few minutes it was quiet, except for the sound of the radio, and Kimi and Manabe's constant bickering.

"Hey… we never had a proper introduction, did we?" Manabe said after a moment. The realization dawned on the rest of them. "Well, as you might have heard earlier, I'm Manabe Kekeru. And the one in the back with brown hair is Kuragi Machi." Manabe started things out.

"Oh! And I'm Toudou Kimi!" Kimi turned around and waved.

"I'm Honda Tohru." Tohru smiled at the others.

"Yeah, and I'm Sohma Kyo." Kyo grunted, tense from the presence of Tohru on his lap, which was not only due to the fact that he might transform, but also for _other_ reasons.

"I'm Hanajima Saki." Hanajima said darkly. Machi stared at her, and Manabe and Kimi shivered.

"I'm Uotani Arisa, and I'm hungry. Who wants to stop for ramen? I thought I saw a sign a little while ago." Uotani offered up.

"That's a great idea! I'm pretty hungry too! Plus it's almost lunch time!" Manabe turned around and talked animatedly to the people in the back.

"KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!"

* * *

Well, there goes chapter two, at super-speed update time! Yay! Gotta love Manabe! (Laugh).

Next chapter will finish off the car ride! And we'll finally actually _get_ to the summer home in chapter four, so see you around!

Look! I discovered the dividing line thingy! (Took me long enough!)

AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! (Chases you to the reviews with a machete)


	3. Car Rides and Ramen Noodle Soup

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Okay, so I've been doing a LOT of fan fiction-ing recently. But what else can I do, I've had nothing to do but pack for the move to my new house. ARGH. Okay, I'll stop now. Well, here's chapter 3 and hopefully the next time you hear from me, I'll have a life…

* * *

"RAMEN! RAMEN!" Manabe chanted as they all snapped their chopsticks in half and murmured an "Idakimas". Manabe began shoving the ramen into his mouth. They all ate their food with some idle chat, until somebody finally got sick of Manabe's lack of manners. 

"Hey, don't you know how to eat?" Uotani snorted disapprovingly.

"No, it's just that I'm just SOOO hungry, Ari-chan!" Manabe grinned.

"ARI-CHAN? WHAT THE HELL KINDA NAME IS THAT?" Uotani fumed and tossed some ramen at him.

"It's your new nickname from me! Just like how I call Yuki Yun-Yun!" Manabe laughed.

_I'll kill him… I'll wring his ungrateful little neck…_ Uotani reached out to strangle him, but Hanajima stopped her.

"A little nickname between lovers isn't so bad…" She said calmly.

"_LOVERS?_" now she started on Hanajima.

"Sorry, toots, but I'm already taken. Ah, I love my girl…" Manabe proceeded to daydream about his girlfriend.

"DON'T CALL ME _TOOTS_!" Uotani paused. "But me too… I… also like somebody…" She added quietly. Hanajima was silent, and Tohru looked at her with sad eyes. The rest of them were just plain confused though.

"Don't worry, Arisa. If Kureno loves you, he'll come back for you…" Hanajima patted her back.

"_KURENO?_" Both Yuki and Kyo dropped their chopsticks.

"Like _the_ Kureno?" Kyo sputtered.

There was no answer.

Well, at least _somebody_ noticed that they didn't want to talk about it, so she broke the silence. "Kimi is full! Kimi thinks we should get out now, if we want to reach by sunset!"

"Yes!" Tohru and Kimi laughed and talked together, for they had already acquired a friendship throughout the lunch.

As they got up, Uotani mouthed a silent thank you to Kimi, who just smiled back.

* * *

Once again, Yuki and Manabe were arguing over who would drive. 

Yuki: "I only agreed to halfway!"

Manabe: "So? I want to drive the whole way!"

Yuki: "Don't be stupid!"

Manabe: "I'm not being stupid! I want to drive!"

Kimi: "Kimi wants to drive too!"

Yuki and Manabe: "NO!"

Finally, somebody broke the argument. "I'LL DRIVE!" Uotani yelled, silencing the two.

"Yay, Ari-chan is going to drive!" Manabe happily hopped into the backseat next to Machi who sat between him and Hanajima.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" Uotani jumped into the front seat next to Kimi, and started the car.

"That's what I told him about 'Yun-Yun'. The idiot never listens." Yuki muttered before getting in his seat and raising his voice as he closed the door. "Hey! How come you let _her_ drive, but you won't let _me_ drive!"

"Just _because_."

And so the argument started up again.

"They're such idiots, aren't they?" Hanajima commented to Machi.

"Yeah…" Machi nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked. 

"Yeah?"

"Y… You're hand…" she had turned scarlet.

Kyo noticed his hand had strayed to Tohru's leg at some point. "OH! I-I'm sorry! I hadn't noticed!" Kyo turned red as well, and quickly withdrew his hand.

"EWWW! KYO-KUN'S A PERV! SICKO! MOLESTOR! SEX FEIND!" Manabe burst out from the back seat.

"YOU SHUT UP!"

* * *

"Hey, lets sing a song!" Manabe suggested. 

"Yay! Kimi wants to sing! Kimi wants to sing!"

"I know." Uotani grinned and got into the spirit. "Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety nine bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around ninety eight bottles of beer on the wall!"

"YEAH!" Manabe and Kimi joined in.

Five minutes later the three were still singing just as enthusiastically, but Kyo had had enough.

"Sixty five bottles of beer on the wall, sixty five bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around—"

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY?"

* * *

"Hey Ari-chan?" 

"What?"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO."

"…."

"Hey Ari-chan?"

"What?"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO."

"…."

"Hey Ari-cha—"

"NO!"

* * *

"Hey Yun-Yun?" 

"What?"

"Are we—?"

"NO!"

"But I was going to ask if we were going to make it there in time for dinner…"

* * *

By the time they had reached, the sun had almost disappeared. Tohru was asleep, leaning on the door, and it took every muscle in Kyo's body to keep him from wrapping his arms around her. 

Yuki and Manabe were fighting again, and Uotani and Kimi were chatting in the front while the radio blasted some J-pop singer. Hanajima and Machi had sort of got a—could you call it a friendship? Well, in any case, they were talking quietly together.

"Oh, Uotani-san, you turn into that place." Yuki directed, and the car came to a stop in front of a large summer home in traditional Japanese style.

"WHOA! Prince, Orangey, you got a MANSION down here!" Uotani gaped as she got out of the car.

"It is most impressive…" Hanajima agreed.

"Nice, Yun-Yun!"

"Kimi likes it too!"

"Tohru?" Kyo nudged Tohru awake.

"H-Huh? Kyo-kun…?" Tohru got up and rubbed her eyes. Realizing the position she was in, she quickly bolted up. "I-I'm sorry!" She jumped out of the car, and Kyo followed.

"You apologize way too much, Tohru." Kyo lightly tapped her on the head. "Besides, car rides can be tiring…"

"You got that right! Especially for the driver!" Uotani stretched and yawned. "So, where are we going to crash?"

They all headed inside and Yuki and Machi lagged slightly behind. "So, do you like the place?" Yuki asked her casually.

"It's… peaceful…" She replied quietly.

Yuki smiled at her. He knew she'd like it.

* * *

The room arrangements were as followed: Tohru and Kisa, Hanajima and Uotani, Kimi and Machi, Hiro and Momiji, Haru and Kyo, Yuki and Manabe, and Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure, who all shared one. 

"It looks like we won't get to share a room with Tohru…" Uotani said disappointedly.

"Yes, but we don't really have a curfew or anything, so you can visit anytime you want! Plus, there's someone I'd like you to meet!" Tohru said cheerfully as they went into the living area where they met up with the rest of the people who had gotten here early.

After the proper introductions had been made, Tohru hugged Kisa. "I LOVE YOU!" She turned to Uotani, Hanajima, and Kimi. "ISN'T SHE ADORABLE!"

"Hey!" Uotani patted her on the head and Hanajima smiled at her.

"Oh, you are the cutest! Kimi loves you too!" Kimi took a turn to hug the girl.

Kisa just blushed.

"Hey! Would you get your hands off her!" Hiro pushed through, not being able to stand the fact that so many people were fawning over his girl.

"Oh, this one's cute too!" Kimi went over to hug Hiro.

"Get off me!" Hiro pushed away.

"Feisty one, aren't we?" Uotani turned to Hiro.

"Oh my… so protective of your girlfriend… how honorable…" Hanajima said in her usual creepy way.

"Ah…" Hiro backed away from her a bit. Once he got over his scared moment he blushed. "Wait a sec! She's not my girlfriend!" _Not yet…_ He added in his head.

Kisa was blushing too.

"But, I… I'll protect her anyway…" Hiro said.

"Aw, how noble!" Kimi took a second try to hug him, but once again, he pushed her away just in time.

Now lets go over to the other side of the room. "Hey! Ayame! Long time no see!" Manabe greeted Ayame. As you could guess, he got along pretty well with him and Shigure.

Meanwhile, Hatori was having a small "problem" of his own.

"Wow! You're a doctor! Kimi _loves_ doctors!" Kimi's eyes sparkled as she looked up at Hatori.

"Um… t-thanks… I think?" Hatori backed away nervously, sweat dropping.

"All of the Sohma men are _so_ handsome…" Kimi gazed dreamily at him.

"Um… I… I already have a girlfriend!" Hatori said quickly.

"Oh, I have a boyfriend too!" Kimi giggled.

_What… What is with this girl?_ Hatori backed into a wall. _She has me cornered!_

"Kimi! Stop harassing Yun-Yun's cousin!" Manabe called.

Kimi backed off, huffing. "Can't Kimi flirt with Yun-Yun's handsome older cousins a _little_ bit?"

"Y-YUN-YUN?" Shigure burst out laughing, and Hatori seemed a bit amused himself.

"SHUT UP!"

"So, what's for dinner?" Manabe leaned back on the couch.

"Well, we don't really have time to make anything, but there's ramen!"

* * *

After dinner, Momiji and Haru had arrived, and tired from their journey, everyone headed to bed early.

* * *

"Ah, there are so many innocent high school girls sleeping right down the hall…" Shigure told Hatori as he looked dreamily towards the door. 

"Just shut up and go to sleep, you pervert!"

* * *

So… you like? YOU LIKE? I just went to the pool with my friends, so maybe I _am_ starting to get a life! (Cries super-deformed style as the light shines down) 


	4. Lakeside Conversations

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket. But thank god that Takaya-sensei does, because if I did, a major character would be dead by now. (I love angst!)

**A/N:** Well, I'm starting to get a life, and that's why I haven't updated in a while. But fear not, I'm still a freak, and I still have moments like this where I have nothing to do but watch crappy Indian movies from the 70s, so updates will come!

By the way, here are a few answers to reviews.

Grinning Cat: I KNOW that –kun is the suffix for a boy, but Takaya-sensei likes to mess with honorifics, apparently, because that's how it is in the book, and I'd like to keep it as similar as possible. And yes, I AM a saucy fiend! LOL.

NekoxLove: Kyo and Tohru! WOOT! WOOT!

Gladdecease: Well, if you've read my other fan fictions, you know my signature typos. And that was one of them. I know it's "Itadakimasu" but I type too fast… (sweatdrops)

Anyway, on to chapter 4!

XXX

"Princess Yuki! Wake UPPP!" Yuki's eyes fluttered open to see Manabe, Kimi, and Machi standing next to his bed. Not what he wanted to see so early in the morning.

"Huh?" He mumbled sleepily.

"It's ten o'clock! We're going down to the lake! Get ready!" Manabe tried to drag Yuki out of bed but instead got a heavy blow to the face. He rubbed his nose and looked up at Yuki, who was giving him a death glare. "O-Of course, you don't _have_ to…" He backed up.

Yuki looked as if he was going to murder someone, but instead he fell back into the bed and pulled the covers over his head. "Five more minutes…" Came a muffled voice from within.

Kimi and Manabe retreated, but Machi stayed in the room. She stood by his bedside the whole five minutes until Yuki finally got up and muttered, "I should probably get up now…" He stood up and began unbuttoning his shirt when he realized that Machi was in the room.

"M-Machi!" He blushed and yanked his shirt back on. "I didn't realize… um… why are you still here?"

Machi shrugged. "I was going to wait until you got up, so we could go to eat breakfast." She mumbled unemotionally.

"Oh… uh… okay, I sort of have to change, so um, do you mind…?" he gestured to the door.

She walked out and shut it. Yuki quickly changed his clothes and walked outside. Machi was waiting by the door.

"Thank you for waiting for me." He smiled at her. She just nodded.

As they were walking down the hall she mumbled something.

"Um… what?" Yuki looked at her.

"You look… more like a prince when you sleep…" She said quietly, and quickened her pace so that she walked ahead of him.

Yuki stared dumbly after her. A smile flickered on his face, and he caught up with her just as she was entering the place where they were to eat.

Everybody was already eating, and when they walked in, all of them looked up.

"What were you doing with your girlfriend up in your room?" Uotani snickered.

"Ah, young love…" Hanajima said quietly as she picked food into her mouth.

Yuki instantly turned red. "S-She's not my g-girlfriend!" He stammered as they both sat down.

"Oh, but your waves tell me you wish she was…" Hanajima nodded knowingly.

Yuki was about to say something, but Ayame cut him off.

"What's this? Yuki? OUR Yuki has a girlfriend? HATORI! LISTEN TO THIS!" Ayame chattered excitedly.

The door slid open once again. "What?" Hatori muttered darkly as he walked in.

"YUKI HAS A GIRLFRIEND! SEE? SEE?" Ayame began pointing at Machi.

Hatori raised his eyebrows.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend."

Both of them said at once.

"But they both wish it was that way…" Hanajima smiled creepily.

The Sohmas and student council people looked at Hanajima, slightly scared. The others who knew her before just sighed.

"What _else_ exactly can you do?" Manabe asked nervously.

"Well, I can read people's emotions and… I have electro-poison waves… I can zap people… I do hope that boy got out of the hospital all right…." She looked into the distance contemplatively.

Everybody else just scooted away from her a bit.

"W-Well, that was a good breakfast, your cooking is excellent, Tohru-san!" Manabe broke the silence and stood. "So, who's up for swimming?"

"Shouldn't you maybe ask one of us first?" Yuki raised his eyebrows.

"Oh sorry, _may_ we go swimming, oh great Sohma Yuki." Manabe laughed.

_That boy… has no gratitude towards us for housing him…_ Yuki twitched. "Fine, lets go."

Everybody headed to their rooms to get ready to go.

When Manabe and Yuki got to their room, Manabe closed the door and suddenly became serious. "No, really, Yuki. _Did_ anything happen between you and my sister?"

Yuki looked at him for a second and then laughed. "Of course not, idiot. What do you take me for?"

Manabe let out a sigh of relief and then grinned. "But I bet you _wish_ something happened, eh?"

"Quit always making me the pervert." Yuki punched him in the arm.

"OWWW, YUN-YUN!"

XXX

"YAY! YAY! SWIMMING! SWIMMING! KIMI LOVES SWIMMING!"

They all went to the lake and either sat by the side or went in to swim. Kimi and Momiji were splashing each other and Tohru and Uotani were trying to teach Kisa how to swim, and Hiro was watching them.

"Don't forget to breathe!" Kyo called out to Tohru from the shore. Tohru smiled and gave him thumbs up.

Yuki and Haru were sitting together by the edge not far from Machi and Hanajima. The Mabudachi Trio had decided not to come.

"So… Is it true that you like her? Hanajima-san's wave powers don't usually lie…" Haru asked Yuki as they watched the others play in the water, his eyes occasionally flickering to the girl sitting not far from him.

Yuki didn't say anything, he just shrugged. "I don't know… she's the only one who's ever really treated me like a normal person…" He said distantly.

"What about Tohru-kun? I thought you liked her."

"I don't know… Honda-san… she's… different. It's really not like that with us."

"You still don't call her by her first name?" Haru raised his eyebrows.

Yuki ignored him. "Plus… it looks like she and Kyo might have something, don't you think?" he observed.

Haru nodded. "But, the progress is awfully slow. It's like they're afraid of something…"

"I don't think you're very far there, Haru."

They were quiet for a minute, until Haru broke the silence. "Fear not, Yuki. If nobody else will have you, I'll stay by your side."

Yuki laughed. "How about not? Oh, by the way… how's Rin doing?"

Haru paused before he answered. "She's… getting there. I don't think she's ready for a relationship yet, though…"

Yuki nodded. "But don't worry Haru, if she won't have you, I'll be by your side." He added jokingly, trying to cheer Haru up.

Haru laughed quietly. "I'm honored."

XXX

Hanajima and Machi were sharing a companionable silence, neither of them being very talkative. They gazed out to the lake. Machi's eyes strayed from the view to a certain silver-haired boy to her left.

"My waves are never wrong." Hanajima stated quietly. "You _do_ like him."

Machi quickly averted her eyes from the subject of the conversation. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do." After a pause Hanajima added. "Or I think you're afraid to find out, right?"

Machi didn't put up an argument. She sat quietly, and finally said. "Why do you care?"

Hanajima laughed to herself and looked towards the brown-haired girl talking to an orange-head. "I suppose it's because it reminds me of a certain situation concerning someone else I know."

Machi looked towards where Hanajima was looking. "You mean those two aren't seeing each other?" She asked doubtfully. "They seem like a couple to me. And if they're not, why don't they just go ahead and get together?"

"As do you and Yuki. So, why don't _you_ just go ahead and get together?" Hanajima turned her gaze towards a flustered Machi.

"Just… leave me alone…" Machi stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk." With that, Machi strode away.

XXX

Okay, everyone. There goes chappy 4. I'm using X's as dividers again, because I'm on a Mac and my PC isn't working at the moment.

Anyway. Oh, by the way, even though I've got some things planned for the summer for these folks, I haven't got _everything_ so if you could maybe leave some ideas/suggestions/requests, that would be great help! (Except no requesting couples, because I already have those set. You _may_ however, request the appearance of a character, though.)

It would be much appreciated!

Thank you!


	5. Walking Together and A Bunny in the Lake

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Wahhh, sorry no update in a while, I've been doing crazy practice for my figure skating PrePreliminary Tests! I'm tired… But, I'm back to update!

Okay, and I'd like to thank those who made requests (EVEN THOUGH IT WAS REALLY FEW!) and there are two reviewers I would like to acknowledge.

PinkSnow: Kimi and Momiji would be such a cute couple! Will definitely think about that, but you didn't listen to me when I told you not to request couples! But whatever, I'm glad you didn't

LoveandPeace522: My long time reviewer, your idea about them getting lost together was pure genius! Will definitely work with that in later chapters!

Please keep the requests coming!

XXX

Machi got up and strode away from Hanajima and the rest, thinking to take a walk around the lake.

Haru nudged Yuki. "Here's your chance." He gestured towards Machi, who was walking away alone.

Yuki blushed but smiled and nodded. "Thanks Haru." He got up and briefly patted Haru on the head.

"No problem, go get her!" Haru winked and watched Yuki walk away. "They grow up so fast…"

XXX

"Machi!" Yuki caught up with her and they both fell into the same step. For a while they just walked quietly together, enjoying the light summer breeze.

"The others are annoying aren't they?" Yuki laughed, breaking the silence. "Always teasing us. Especially Hanajima-san."

Machi gave a slight nod. "It's… silly, huh?" she responded quietly.

Yuki was quiet for a moment, before he said. "Is it really… that silly?"

Machi averted her eyes and an uncomfortable silence hung between them.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Yuki blushed slightly.

Machi shook her head. "No, it's okay… whatever Hanajima-san is saying… I'm not ready to think about that yet… but… it isn't so silly… to love someone… and want to be with them…" As she said this, both of their eyes wandered to each other. They blushed and quickly looked away.

"Yeah…" Yuki replied. "It isn't so silly, if you put it that way."

They looked at each other again, briefly, and Yuki smiled. Machi seemed like she would, but she didn't (because the girl doesn't smile! (angry author)).

"Yuki…" Machi looked seriously at him this time. "I don't… know. I don't know what my feelings are yet. But… I hope you'll wait until I find out…"

Yuki looked taken aback by her sudden confession.

"I hope I find out soon…" Machi concluded. She took Yuki's hand and squeezed it once before releasing it and walking away from him.

"I hope so too." Yuki smiled softly and watched the girl walk away.

XXX

"I'm never wrong." Hanajima said to Haru, smiling contentedly.

Haru smiled and nodded.

XXX

The others were having there own fun… sort of…

"Stop doing that you child molester!" Hiro was yelling at Kimi again.

"Kimi's not molesting her, Kimi is trying to teach her how to swim!" Kimi argued.

"Kya! Kimi-chan is so cute!" Momiji smiled at Kimi.

"Yay! Momiji-chan is cute too!" Kimi patted him on his head.

"I WANNA HUG KIMI-CHAN!" Momiji laughed.

"Yay! Kimi gets a hug!" Kimi giggled.

"AH, MORON!" Kyo bonked Momiji on the head.

"WAAAH! Kyo's being mean!" Momji whined. "I never said I was GOING to hug Kimi-chan I said I WANTED to!"

"Yeah, but by saying that, you'll make her want to-" Kyo couldn't finish his sentence, because before they knew it, Kimi had hugged Momiji.

_POOF, SPLASH!_

"EH? Where'd Momiji-chan go?" Kimi looked around, puzzled. Then she spotted something in the water. "Ah! Momiji-chan's swim shorts! But where's Momiji-chan? WHAT IF HE WAS EATEN?"

"Yeah right, like that can happen idiot…" Kyo, Tohru, Kisa, and Hiro were scanning the waters for a yellow rabbit.

"Rabbits can't swim, can they?" Kisa asked quietly, tears coming to her eyes. Tohru gasped and searched more frantically.

A moment later, Kyo spotted Momiji under the water, struggling to get to the surface. He dived down quickly to pick up the fuzzy little guy and bring him out of the water.

Kimi was still confused, if not even more than before. "I don't understand! Momiji-chan, where are you?"

Kyo took Momiji behind a rock before he let Momiji answer Kimi's questions. "I'm behind a rock- but don't come after me! I… My swim shorts fell off, so I'm hiding back here. Um… Could you please bring them to me, Hiro?" Hiro followed Momiji's instructions and brought him the shorts. After a few moments, he transformed back and quickly put on his shorts, immerging from behind the rock.

"Ah, Momiji-chan! You scared Kimi!" Kimi looked tearily towards Momiji. "I thought you were eaten or something!"

"Nope! I'm here!" Momiji grinned and scratched his head.

Kimi smiled back. "Okay, but don't do it again, okay? Kimi likes Momiji!"

"Oi! I'm hungry!" Hiro wailed.

"Let's go back to eat!" Tohru said and everyone got out of the water, joined by Machi and Yuki, who had returned.

Kyo walked up to Momiji who was still standing in the same spot as before. "K-Kimi-chan is… really nice… and cute too!" He giggled, and Kyo noticed a tinge of pink on his cheeks.

"She already has a boyfriend." Kyo shrugged. "And don't you EVER do that again!" He said sharply. "You could've drowned!"

Momiji looked up at Kyo in surprise, and a wide grin was pasted on his face. "Hee, hee! You were worried about me, weren't you Kyo!" He giggled.

Kyo blushed. "I WAS NOT! You… could've exposed us to Kimi!"

"Yay! Kyo really does care!"

"No I don't! I don't give a damn!" Kyo stalked away, his face still red.

Momiji giggled and followed.

XXX

Yay! I finally updated! I was planning to have some of the stuff that I had in here before anyway, but after Pink Snow's comment, I added the Kimi/Momiji moment. Aww, Momiji's falling in looove! Cuteness! X3


	6. Flirting Before Breakfast

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Hey, I'm back! I'm so, so, so, so sorry I haven't updated in AGES! I was in New York for a week, so I couldn't. Sorry! But, I'm back! WAHAHAHA! Oh, and I'm sorry I haven't put much Kyoru fluff in recently. This fic is also a YukixMachi, so please, be patient!

XXX

The next morning started off pretty much the same way. Tohru was up pretty early, and everybody but Hatori and Kyo were still sleeping. They were sitting in the living room, Hatori reading, and Kyo watching some sort of fighting movie on TV.

"Good morning Hatori-san! Good morning Kyo-kun!" Tohru greeted them on the way to the kitchen. Hatori smiled and greeted her. Kyo looked up and also mumbled a greeting. Tohru disappeared into the kitchen.

Hatori looked up at Kyo. "Well, aren't you going to follow her? Give her a good morning kiss?" He teased. Kyo turned red and was about to protest when Hatori interrupted. "Just kidding. But you could at least help her fix breakfast?" He raised his eyebrows at Kyo. When Kyo didn't respond, he shrugged and went back to his book. He heard the TV turn off and watched Kyo walk into the kitchen from the corner of his eye. He smiled. _I'll watch over them. Tohru, Kyo… And Yuki too…_

XXX

Kyo walked into the kitchen to see Tohru cutting a watermelon. He smiled to himself as he watched her struggle with the hard outside skin, a determined look on her face. Suddenly she gave out a small yelp and Kyo noticed a cut on her finger.

"Ah!" She squeezed her eyes shut. She felt something take her hand and something soft on her finger. She opened her eyes to see Kyo's lips on her finger. She immediately turned red. "K-Kyo-kun?"

Kyo's eyes snapped open. "Oh! Um… I… s-sorry… I'll get you a band-aid…" He blushed and retreated to get a band-aid, leaving Tohru confused and red.

He returned and carefully wrapped the band-aid around her finger.

Tohru went back to trying to slice the watermelon. Kyo watched her for a bit, and then admitted defeat and went to put his arms around her (not like a hug, so he wouldn't transform) and placing his hands over hers on the knife and fruit. He slowly pushed down on her hand and helped her slice through the watermelon.

"Th-thank you Kyo-kun…" Tohru whispered.

"You're welcome…" Kyo replied, his voice barely audible.

Hatori peered over his book and into the kitchen and smiled.

"Isn't it a bit early in the morning for you two to be flirting?"

Two heads turned to see Uotani at the doorway of the kitchen. They looked at each other, and jumped apart.

"Um… I was helping her cut the fruit…" Kyo mumbled.

"Y-yeah… the fruit…"

"SURE… now what's for breakfast?" Uotani said, eyes narrowed, grinning knowingly.

XXX

Yuki awoke late as usual, and dressed clumsily. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and slid the door open. He was about to walk towards the dining room when he noticed someone was standing next to him.

Machi was by the door, waiting for him.

"Uh… how long have you been waiting here?" He asked her, surprised.

"A while." She replied, and her cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Well… Do you want to go eat breakfast…?" Yuki said nervously.

"S-sure…" Machi nodded and stepped away from the wall.

Yuki smiled, and after a moment's thought, he slipped his hand into hers.

She blushed, but didn't pull away, and they walked to breakfast, fingers interlaced.

XXX

Okay, short chapter, but I thought I should post before people start complaining. Hee hee… Well, I'm moving houses, so with packing and such I won't have time to update and I won't have internet for a while, so please, bear with me!


	7. Feelings

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Yay! I'm back! My computer is back, and I'm fan fictioning again! (That's not even a word, but SHH.) In my time that I was internetless, I managed to write four new fanfics, so I've been pretty busy. Sorry, none of them are Fruits Basket. But if you like InuYasha, Digimon, or YuGiOh, you might want keep a lookout. ;)

By the way, this fan fiction has nothing to do with my other one, Together Forever, so don't think anything of it if the two don't match up. This isn't like, a prequel or something.

XXX

Akito was giving Kureno a week off that summer. At first, he wasn't sure what to do, but then he decided he would visit the Sohma Summer Home in secret, without Akito's knowledge. He just wanted to see what was going on there, and he heard that Uotani Arisa might be there…

XXX

A few days had passed, and things were looking good. They had a few trips to the lake. Tohru and Kyo was an excellent cooking pair, giving them delicious meals.

One morning during breakfast, Momiji came up with an idea. "Hey, lets all go for a hike in the woods!"

Chatter erupted through the dining hall, until it was silenced by a clack of the door. Kimi walked in, face pouting, and took a place next to Momiji.

"What's wrong?" Momiji asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Kimi's boyfriend was being an idiotic pervert, so Kimi had to break up with him." She crossed her arms.

"Well… we're all going for a hike today, you want to come?" Momiji asked, trying to cheer her up.

Kimi perked up. "Really? KIMI WANTS TO COME TOO! Kimi loves hikes!"

Momiji smiled. "I'm glad."

Yuki turned to Machi. "Do you want to go on the hike?" he asked.

Machi shook her head. "I don't like the forest. There are too many bugs."

Yuki laughed. "Are you scared of bugs?"

Machi blushed and scowled.

"It's okay, I don't really feel like a hike, either, so I'll stay here with you." Yuki smiled.

Machi looked up at him, her cheeks turning pink. "Thank you…" She mumbled.

Suddenly, Manabe appeared between them. "No! I won't allow this! You're not staying alone in this house together!"

"WHERE'D YOU COME FROM?"

"Don't worry." Hatori stoically sipped his tea. "I'm not going on the hike either, so I'll make sure they don't do anything vulgar."

"Oh!" Shigure bounced over. "I want to stay to watch the fun!"

"Yes! Yes! Count me in!" Ayame chimed in.

"THERE WILL BE NO FUN TO WATCH." Yuki growled.

"Sure there won't…" Shigure winked, earning a whack on the head with a newspaper.

"It was an accident." Hatori was still drinking his tea, unrolling his newspaper.

"HAA-SAN YOU'RE SO CRUEL!"

XXX

So in the end, Kyo, Tohru, Momiji, Haru, Hiro, Kisa, Manabe, Kimi, Uotani, and Hanajima headed out for the hike, leaving Yuki, Machi, Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame at the house.

Machi was sitting outside under the shade of a tree, looking up at the sky. Soon, she noticed the presence of another and looked up. Yuki was leaning against the tree behind her watching her with soft eyes.

Machi blushed. "How long have you been there?"

"A while…" Yuki plucked a flower from the bush next to him and twirled it in his fingers.

A companionable silence followed, as the two enjoyed the beautiful scenery. After a while, Yuki knelt next to Machi. His eyes strayed from the view onto her. She looked up at him and they stared at each other for a while. Yuki looked at the flower in his hand. Red. He smiled and tucked it behind her ear. "Do you know what your feelings are yet?"

Machi blushed and looked down.

Yuki leaned forward so that their faces were inches apart. "Are you ready to find out?"

Machi's heart thudded as Yuki leaned forward, their lips almost touching, when three figures fell from behind the tree.

"You idiots, you can't even spy properly?" Hatori yelled.

"And it was just getting good! They were almost there!" Ayame said.

"I TOLD you something would happen!" Shigure smirked.

Yuki and Machi jumped apart, both blushing madly.

The other three looked up as if seeing them for the first time.

"It was all their idea." Hatori pointed at the other two.

"Yeah, but you were only too happy to join." Ayame argued.

"Ah, young love." Shigure.

Machi stood up and started walking away.

Yuki turned and called after her. "Machi, wait—!" He gave up and stopped.

"YOU THREE…" Yuki turned his face to Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure, his face screwed into a death glare.

Gulp.

The following content has been removed because of its graphic violence. I'll leave it to your imaginations.

XXX

I think I'm going to separate this chapter and put the hike part later, because it sort of interrupts the other stuff.

Well, anyway, recently, I've been really into Yuki/Machi stuff. I had this dream with Yuki and Machi (I know weird, but I just have random, really vivid dreams about anime/manga). Then I realized that it would make a really nice AU fic. But I'm not really sure if anyone would like it, so I'll put a summary past you guys, and see what you think, okay? Summary:

Yuki has the power to save the world. Machi has the power to save him. They will come together at the Sohma Academy for Gifted Individuals, where people with magical abilities come to train. Add a rivalry with a hotheaded carrot top (Kyo) and his overly-kind girlfriend (Tohru), a few crazy teachers (including a drag queen-Ayame), an obsessive fan club, a guidance councilor who writes kinky novels (Shigure), and a whacked out headmaster who's gender is a mystery (Akito) and his trusted advisor (Kureno), and you have a story full of action, adventure, romance, and insanity.

Yay, a cheesy summary. I suck at those anyway. So tell me what you think!


	8. Hiking: Part 1: Lost

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket. Ahhh, I haven't said that in a while.**  
**

**A/N:** AHHH I HAVENT UPDTED IN LIKE, A BAZZILION YEARS! It's been real crazy, you know. Moving, school starting, laptop conking out, five other fanfics going on… But, I'm back!

* * *

"Wow! Kyo-kun, look at the butterfly!" Tohru pointed to a blue butterfly that fluttered by. 

"Yeah, it's really pretty." Kyo replied, but not entirely talking only about the butterfly.

"OY! Kyo, stop checking out Tohru's ass and lets get moving!" Manabe called from the group ahead of them.

Kyo turned scarlet. "I WASN'T! STOP MAKING UP PERVERTED THINGS!" He stalked off towards the group, and Tohru followed, confused.

They kept walking, but it wasn't long before Tohru stopped again, this time to examine some flowers. "Kyo-kun, look! These are so beautiful! They smell good too!" She touched one delicately, smiling.

Kyo knelt next to her. "Yeah, they are." He smiled. "Well, we should go before we get separated…" His voice trailed off as he looked around.

They were completely alone.

"Too late."

"W-What do we do?" Tohru looked around panicked.

"Relax. Lets just walk around and see if we can either find them or our way back to the house." Kyo stood and patted Tohru's head. "Everything will be fine."

Tohru got up and smiled up at Kyo, her fears fading. "I know they will. I'm with you, after all."

Kyo blushed and turned around. "Well, come on then."

Tohru followed him happily.

* * *

"Momiji-chan, we're lost! I'm scared!" Kimi wailed looking around the dark forest. 

"Don't worry Kimi-chan!" Momiji grinned. "We'll find our way back! Come on, I think it's this way!"

"OKAY!" Kimi got a determined look on her face and walked ahead of Momiji, before shrieking and going to hide behind him.

"What?" Momiji looked at the frantic Kimi, who was squeezing his hand in fear. She pointed at a large beetle just in front of them. Momiji laughed. "It's okay, Kimi-chan!" He reached out and let the beetle climb onto his hand. "See? They're no harm."

Kimi's grip on Momiji's hand loosened, but she didn't completely release it. A smile spread on her face. "You're right. It's kind of cute!" She giggled. "Oh!" Kimi realized the position they were in and quickly released his hand. "S-sorry."

"It's okay!" Momiji smiled and slipped his hand over hers, blushing. "You can hold my hand if you're scared."

Kimi blushed too, and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Momiji-chan…"

* * *

"We… WE'RE DOOMED." Kyo grumbled, looking around. He and Tohru were in a clearing that they had passed three times already. 

"Kyo-kun, it's okay. I'm sure the others are looking for us. But I'm tired, do you want to sit down a bit?" Tohru put her hand on Kyo's shoulder, smiling at him.

"Fine…" The two sat down under the shade of a tree, leaning on the wide trunk. Tohru looked around and found a flower bush, and started picking flowers off of it and weaving them together. After a while, they started falling apart and she scowled and stopped humming.

"What're you doing?" Kyo asked, scooting over so he could see.

"I'm trying to make a wreath, but…" Frustration showed in her eyes.

Kyo paused a moment, before grabbing a handful of flowers from the bush and turning around. Tohru looked at his back curiously. "What are you doing, Kyo-kun?"

Kyo didn't answer and there was a short silence before Kyo turned around and mumbled. "Close your eyes."

"Huh?" Tohru looked puzzled, but obeyed all the same.

Soon the scent of fresh-picked flowers filled her nose. "You can open them now."

Tohru opened her eyes and reached up to touch the extra weight on her head. It was a wreath of flowers. She picked it off her head and examined it before putting it back on and giggling.

"What's so funny?" Kyo asked.

"Well, it's just that, when I was little, I would always wish that when I was older, I would sit under a tree with the one I love, and he would make me a wreath of flowers and put it on me." She giggled again.

Kyo blushed. "The one… you love?"

"Oh!" Tohru covered her mouth with a hand and turned scarlet. "I… I mean… When I was a child… I…"

Kyo smiled and patted her head. "It's okay. I get it…" _I think…_

Tohru let out a sigh and relaxed, leaning back on the tree. "Kyo-kun? You don't mind if I sleep a bit, do you?"

"No, not at all…" Kyo replied. Truthfully, his eyelids were feeling a bit heavy as well.

"'Kay… Wake me up when the others come…" Tohru's voice faded as she drifted off, eyes closing, and head drooping onto Kyo's shoulder.

Kyo was surprised at first, but then he smiled softly and leaned back, letting his own eyes close as well.

* * *

Uotani was walking a few paces behind the others, looking around the forest. _I wonder where Tohru went… Well, orangey is with her, so she should be fine…_She returned to surveying the area. For a moment she thought she saw a figure flash through the trees. She walked towards it, leading herself away from the group and right into the dark part of the forest. 

Soon, she turned around to realize she was alone. "Damn! Now I'm lost! And the trees are so thick, I can barely see!" She looked around and heard the rustling of something in the bushes. Alarmed, she picked up a stick. A figure emerged, and she instantly whacked it with the stick.

"Ow…"

She opened her eyes to see a man standing in front of her, but she couldn't quite make out the face. "Who…"

Before she could finish her sentence the man reached out and pulled her into an embrace. She quickly pulled away and looked up into his face for the first time.

"Kureno…"

* * *

Hanajima, Hiro, Kisa, Manabe, and Haru looked around at each other. 

"Well, Ari-chan, the wandering warrior has gone on a lonesome trip, Kyo and Tohru have gone on a romantic escapade, and Momiji and Kimi have mysteriously disappeared." Manabe concluded.

"So many hearts… So many feelings…" Hanajima murmured, looking out into the distance.

The others just stared at her.

"Yes… feelings…" Her gaze shifted to the youngest of them, Kisa and Hiro. The two blinked up at her. "Young love…"

"Y-YOU FREAK!" Hiro said as he and Kisa quickly looked away from each other, blushing.

Hanajima grinned creepily. "Yes… love…"

More stares.

* * *

Yay, ends part one of the hike! Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon! 


	9. Hiking: Part 2: Rain

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** I finally had time to update! School is so stressful! But, I'm back with another fluff-filled chappy for you guys! Enjoy and REVIEW!

* * *

Uotani looked up at Kureno, eyes wide. "What are you… why are you here...?"

"I… the truth is… I came to see you…" Kureno replied quietly, his eyes downcast.

Uotani gazed up at him, heart thudding. "But Tohru told me you didn't want to see me again…"

"I didn't." Kureno looked into her eyes painfully. "I… had a duty… I didn't want to see you… But… I couldn't help myself." Tears began to slip from his eyes.

Uotani reached up and touched his face, feeling the wetness of his pain on his cheek. "Why then…?"

"Because it's so hard to stay away… From the one you love!" Kureno's hand gripped Uotani's wrist.

Now it was Uotani's turn to cry. "Stupid… if that was how you felt before… then why did you…" She buried her face in his shirt, which became damp from her tears.

"Because Akito… she…" Kureno stopped mid-sentence.

It didn't matter anymore. He didn't really love Akito. That love was a lie. It was pity and he knew it from the start. He lifted Uotani's face and kissed her hard, passionately. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she leaned back against a tree as their lips touched.

Kureno's eyes snapped open. He pulled back abruptly. _What have I done?_ "Arisa… I'm… sorry… I…" Kureno gave her one last longing look and caressed her cheek briefly. "I'm sorry!" He turned on heel and ran into the darkness.

"Kureno!" Uotani called after him, but he didn't look back. She knew there was no point in running after him. "Kureno…" She fell to her knees and wiped her eyes with the heel of one hand, the other hand gripping the dirt beneath her.

As if on cue, the rain began splattering the trees and hitting her shoulder, as if crying with her.

"KURENO!"

* * *

Hanajima looked up sharply. "Pain…" She said abruptly, causing the others to stop and look at her. "Two people are… in pain…"

* * *

"UWAH!" Kimi giggled. "Look, Momiji-chan, rain!" She held out her hands to feel the droplets sprinkle her fingers.

Momiji laughed. "I guess we couldn't see the clouds from under the trees." He paused and looked up. "Rain holds so many feelings, huh? It can be sad, peaceful, renewed, even content."

Kimi thought about what he said before replying. "What about love? Can it represent falling in love for real for the first time?" She asked, looking shyly at him.

Momiji looked at her, his cheeks turning pink. "Yeah… maybe…"

Both of their eyes flickered to their interlocked hands, but they just smiled and kept walking as if it meant nothing.

* * *

Kureno ran until he saw the summer home in front of him. He walked in without bothering to take off his shoes, running through the halls until he came face to face with Hatori.

"Kureno? What are you doing here?" Hatori asked suspiciously.

Kureno looked up at him, and Hatori noticed his pained expression and the tears that mingled with the rain on his face.

"Are you… alright?" Hatori asked, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Kureno shook his head and took a hold of the front of Hatori's shirt. "Hatori, please, find Uotani and erase her memory of our last encounter!"

Hatori looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

Kureno squeezed his eyes shut. "I told her things I shouldn't have said! I gave her proof of the feelings I shouldn't have felt! I don't want her to know I love her! I beg you, please erase it!"

Hatori grabbed Kureno's wrists and forced him to look up at him. "What? You… love each other?"

Kureno nodded, eyes still full of tears. "It's not meant to be… I… Akito… Please, Hatori! I have never asked anything of you before this! Just do this for me!"

Hatori was still confused, especially to see Kureno of all the people in such a state, but he dropped the other man's wrists and nodded. "If you wish…"

Kureno bowed to Hatori and whispered one last "Thank you" before turning on heel and running away.

Hatori sighed, his hand clenched into a tight fist. _Kureno… why are we all cursed to a life like this… even you, whose curse has been lifted?_

* * *

The feeling of rain on his head awakened Kyo. He looked up and cursed.

Tohru's eyes also fluttered open and she looked around. "Kyo-kun, rain!" She smiled. Then realization dawned on her and she gave Kyo a concerned look. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Don't worry about me. How long have we been asleep, anyway?" He scratched his head and stood, Tohru doing the same.

"We should start looking for the others again…" Tohru rubbed her eyes and they began walking.

They didn't have to go long before they caught up with the others.

Manabe was the first to notice them. "OI! The lovebirds are back!"

The others turned and Kisa ran into Tohru's arms. "Thank goodness you're okay!" She cried.

_That woman is my rival!_ Hiro thought.

_That girl is my rival!_ Kyo thought.

Hanajima gave Tohru a serious look. "I sense… pain…"

Tohru blinked up at her.

"Two people are hurting." Hanajima repeated.

Tohru looked down worriedly. "Do you know who?"

Hanajima shook her head.

"So Kyo, you didn't take advantage of Tohru, did you?" Haru punched the other boy's arm.

Manabe's cue. "EEEEEK! KYO-KUN'S A PERVERT! ALL GIRLS AND WOMEN SHOULD FEAR HIS WRATH!"

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

Uotani stumbled through the woods, unsure of everything. She cursed the rain several times.

Soon she noticed a figure standing in front of her.

"Kureno?" She asked helplessly.

Hatori looked down at her painfully. He closed his eyes and prayed for the two of them before covering Uotani's eyes with his hand.

A flash of light erupted through the darkness as Uotani fell unconscious on the ground.

"It's done…" Hatori said to nobody at all before walking back towards the house.

Kureno was watching from the shadows of the trees. "Thank you, Hatori." He said before disappearing.

* * *

Uotani awoke not long after, tears streaming down her face and something heavy weighing down her heart. She couldn't remember what it was, though. She was covered in dirt and mud, her clothes torn.

A group of people was coming towards her. She lifted herself to a sitting position.

"ARI-CHAN!" Manabe grinned and waved at first, but then his smile faded as he saw a better look at her. He turned to Tohru and Hanajima. "There's something wrong with Ari-chan…"

Uotani saw two people break out of the group and rush towards her. Tohru and Hanajima. They both kneeled down in front of her and exchanged worried glances.

"Pain…" Hanajima whispered.

Uotani looked at them for a moment, her eyes filling up with tears. She grabbed them both into a hug, sobbing into their shoulders.

"What happened Uo-chan?" Tohru asked frantically, trying to comfort her.

Uotani shook her head. "I don't know… I feel like I'm forgetting something. Something that makes me really sad!" she choked another sob out before whispering so only those two could hear. "It was… something to do with Kureno."

Tohru's eyes widened.

The others were also looking concerned and finally Haru spoke up. "We should probably take her home now."

"I… don't know if I can walk on my own…" Uotani said quietly, feeling embarrassed at her own weakness.

Haru and Kyo gave each other uneasy looks; both knowing it would be too risky to try to carry her.

"FEAR NOT! SCHOOL DEFENSE CORPS BLACK RANGER AT YOUR SERVICE!" Manabe jumped up and picked her up bridal-style.

"W-What are you doing!" Uotani asked, struggling in his grip.

"Helping you. Don't worry, I'm not a pervert like Kyo-kun, my heart belongs to my girl…"

("I'M NOT A PERVERT DAMMIT!")

He went off on a rant about how awesome his girlfriend was, and Uotani relaxed, knowing that he didn't mean anything by carrying her. He was just being friendly. _This guy isn't so bad after all._ She closed her eyes and her thoughts wandered to ten minutes ago. What had happened? She didn't remember anything after getting separated from the group. Did she faint? _Yes, that must be it. I didn't eat a very good breakfast, so that's probably why._ She concluded, but something still bugged her. _What does Kureno have to do with that, though?_ She shook the thoughts out of her head and let herself fall asleep in Manabe's arms.

* * *

Momiji and Kimi came to a clearing and saw a house in the distance.

"We made it back, Momiji-chan!" Kimi laughed looking up at him in delight.

"I know today hasn't been exactly as planned, but it was fun, right?" Momiji grinned at her.

"Yeah, it was!" Kimi smiled back.

The two of them looked at each other for a few moments.

"Ahem." Momiji cleared his throat and both of them went to cover the remaining ground towards the house, blushing.

They arrived to see that everyone else had come as well, and they all ate and turned in, totally worn out from the whole day.

* * *

Uotani woke up, and looked around. It was dark, except for a man dozing off on a chair by her bed.

Hatori opened his eyes and looked at a now awake Uotani.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting up.

"Manabe carried you back, and you were asleep, so we just let you come sleep in your room. I stayed incase something happened." Hatori explained, fully surveying her for the first time since they had met. _So this is the woman Kureno fell for…_

Uotani nodded. She looked to the side to see Hanajima asleep in her own bed next to her. "Where are Tohru and everyone else?"

"Sleeping. Tohru was here a while before, but she got tired and I told her to go to bed." Hatori replied stoically. Finally he sighed, and his eyes became soft. "You had better get some rest. You were worn out from physical and emotional strain. I think you'll be fine come morning."

Uotani nodded and lay down, closing her eyes. After a while, her breathing became deep and even and Hatori knew she was asleep. He leaned over and touched her hair, stroking it gently, sadly. _I said I'd watch over Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki, but until Kureno gets things straight, I'll watch over him and Uotani too…_

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, sighing and closing his eyes.

_Our curse has no end, and it tears people apart, heart after heart._

* * *

Hocha. I finished a very long chapter that took me a couple of days. But i think it was worth it so REVIEW! 


	10. Post Hike Contemplations

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket (cries).

**A/N:** OMG! I know I haven't updated in a while, but I've been SUPER busy. I just finished my own comic (however amateur it is) and it's really sad but really happy and I've been working on it for a year and SOOO sad its over! (Cries more) But here we are. The last chapter was pretty angst-y, huh? Ah, my three favorite things: romance, angst, and horror (speaking of horror… a summer vacation isn't complete without a ghost story, is it? Hint, hint…). I'm such a freak. But you love me anyway, right? (Puppy eyes) DAMN, that was a long a/n.

* * *

The next morning, breakfast was quiet. Uotani obviously didn't feel like talking, and Hatori was lost somewhere in his thoughts. Yuki and Machi were thinking about their feelings for each other, and Tohru and Hanajima were tired from the day before. Manabe was moping around, claiming to be missing his girlfriend. Haru was apathetic, as usual. The only people who seemed to be in a good mood were Kimi and Momiji, Momiji happily munching on his food and Kimi humming, and Shigure and Ayame, because the two never seemed to know how not to be happy.

Kyo hadn't shown up for breakfast, and Tohru was worried that he might be sick. She picked at her food, her gaze shifting from her plate, to the door, looking for Kyo, to nervous glances at Uotani. She had thought a lot about what had happened the night before, how something had made Uotani anguished, something to do with Kureno, yet she couldn't remember what it was. Tohru had a slight idea about what might be the deal.

Kimi broke the silence that hung around the room. "Momiji and I were thinking. Today day we can rest, since it's been a rough day yesterday, but tomorrow, we were thinking of going into town for the day! We can go shopping or watch a movie, or eat out, it'll be fun!" She giggled gleefully.

"Sounds good to me."

"Could be fun."

"Better than being bored."

Murmurs of agreement echoed through the dining hall.

"It's settled then! Tomorrow we're spending the day in town!" Kimi concluded.

Soon, people stood to leave, having finished breakfast, and Tohru began clearing the table. Yuki had offered to help too, but Tohru had politely declined. She was lost in her thoughts for a long time, when she heard clinking next to her. She looked up to see Hatori helping her clear the table.

"Hatori-san! Really, it's not necessary!" Tohru stammered immediately.

Hatori smiled. "It's okay, I don't mind. Besides, you don't have your usual helper." He was said, speaking of Kyo. "And… I would like to keep my mind off of things…" Hatori's voice trailed off, as he followed Tohru into the kitchen, holding a pile of dirty plates.

As they were setting the plates into the sink, Tohru suddenly spoke up. "Did you… did something happen with Uo-chan last night that I should know about…?" She asked uncertainly. When Hatori didn't reply, she looked up at him. "Did you… erase Uo-chan's memory?"

After a moment of silence, Hatori gave a shaky laugh. "Can't get anything past you, can we, Tohru-kun?" He looked at Tohru with pained eyes. "Yes… yes, I did. I don't think I had much other choice, Kureno begged me to."

Tohru looked at him with wide eyes. "What… what happened…?"

Hatori shook his head. "That's not my place to say." After a pause, Hatori added. "You might want to check up on Kyo, he's been awfully quiet this morning." With that, Hatori walked out of the kitchen, avoiding Tohru's eyes.

Tohru's concern for Uotani was replaced by her concern for Kyo. _I hope he's all right…_ She thought, pushing her other thoughts of Kureno and Uotani out of her mind, thinking that as much as she wanted to help, it would be best not to meddle. Last time she did, it only caused the two more pain.

She quickly put two slices of toast and some tea onto a tray and headed out of the kitchen and down the hall to the room that Haru and Kyo shared. When she walked in, she didn't see Haru and guessed he was in Yuki's room. She was puzzled not to find Kyo there either, until she noticed the sliding door that led outside onto the porch at the back of the house. Every room had such a doorway that led out onto that same porch, although there were locks and curtains for privacy. Seeing the door open, Tohru quickly put down the tray onto the low table at the middle of the room and walked outside.

Kyo was sitting at the edge of the porch, hugging his knees to his chest. He had a loose t-shirt and jeans on, hair blowing in the wind as he looked out into the small pond that sat in the back of the house. Tohru plopped down next to him.

"Hi Kyo-kun!"

Kyo jumped up three feet and turned to face her, cheeks instantly turning red. "T-Tohru!"

"You weren't at breakfast, so I brought you some toast." She jerked her head to the table beyond the glass doors.

Kyo nodded, but didn't say anything else. Tohru's face suddenly became serious. "Something's wrong isn't it? Do… you want to talk about it?" Getting no reply from Kyo, she sighed. "I guess not. I'll see you at lunch then?" Another nod.

Tohru sighed and stood, leaving Kyo disappointedly.

As soon as she left, Kyo let out a breath. Yes, there was something bothering him—_her—_his love for her. It was unbearable how much he cared for her. Just being back at the summer home with her brought back memories of the last summer, when he realized his feelings for the first time.

_A monster can never love!_

His eyes widened as Akito's voice nagged his thoughts. He looked at the pond with sad eyes. _He's right though… I'm… a monster… I don't… deserve someone like her…_ Kyo sighed and closed his eyes, falling back onto the hard wood and letting sleep take over him.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Haru asked Yuki as he sat on Yuki's futon. Manabe was nowhere to be found, probably with Kimi and Momiji.

Yuki looked out into the lake through his glass doors. "Well… it might have gone well…"

"But…?" Haru asked, lifting one eyebrow.

"But Ayame, Hatori, and Shigure decided to spy, but the idiots crashed down from their hiding spot and ruined the moment." Yuki said quickly, blushing and turning his fierce gaze to the outside. The stupid cat fell asleep on the porch.

Haru chuckled. "I see. But, you'll take another chance, right?"

Yuki paused a moment before answering. "I don't know… I just wish she knew how much I care for her…"

Those were the last words Machi heard before she scurried away from her eavesdropping spot by Yuki's door, face red. _What will I do NOW?_

* * *

Uotani looked up at the ceiling from her futon. _What was it about Kureno that I forgot…?_ She couldn't shake that nagging feeling. She looked to see if Hanajima was in the room, but saw that it was empty.

_She must be watching gory slasher movies again…_ Uotani thought, sweat dropping.

* * *

The sound of a chainsaw ripped through the living room as everyone watched in horror. They weren't looking at the movie though. They were watching Hanajima, who was sitting there watching a horribly violent and gory horror film unfazed, with a creepy grin across her face.

"This is my favorite movie." Hanajima told the onlookers.

* * *

Ha, ha, I love Hanajima! This chappy was also serious, and sorta wordy (probably on account of the fact that I just wrote an essay for school). But more funny stuff coming up soon, I swear! 


	11. A Trip To The Mall

**Disclaimer:** No, I still haven't gotten Takaya-sensei to sell me Fruits Basket, but I'm working on it!  
**A/N:** Well, since I'm working on another Fruits Basket fan fiction at the same time as this one, I've started a new policy. If I update one, I HAVE to update the other. That way, I won't neglect either of them. So, here goes.

(And okay, I used American store names, but how am _I_ supposed what stores they have in Japan?)

* * *

The morning of their trip to the city came, and those staying in the Sohma summer home awoke and got ready for the day.

"KIMI, HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE IN THERE?" Manabe hammered on the door to the bathroom, in which Kimi had been locked up for the past half an hour.

The door finally opened, and Kimi stepped out, practically glowing. She wagged a finger at Manabe. "It takes time for a lady to look so pretty."

Manabe snorted and Kimi huffed and walked past him. "Finally!" Manabe sighed and quickly rushed into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Machi was dressed and sitting in the living area, watching the TV as the news reports the weather. It was going to be sunny and fair, perfect weather, she noted. She sighed and peeked out of the doorway into the hall, to the door that was right across from the living area. It was the room Yuki and Manabe shared. She sighed and stood, brushing her long jean skirt and straightening the pain, button-down white shirt she wore. She walked across the hall and knocked on Yuki's door.

No answer.

After knocking once more and getting no reply, she slowly turned the knob. Yuki was lying in his futon; sheets curved gracefully around him, lying perfectly still, his breath even.

Machi leaned on the doorframe and watched her prince sleep. Wait… _her_ prince? She blushed and shook her head.

"Yuki?" She knelt in front of him and tapped his shoulder. Yuki gave a soft moan and shifted around. "Yuki!" She said a little bit louder, now shaking him gently.

"Mm?" Yuki rubbed his eyes and sat up. His eyes locked with her, and he turned red. "MACHI?" He quickly sat up straight and smoothed out his pajamas. "Um… what…?"

"We're leaving soon." She replied. "So… wake up."

"Oh… uh… thanks for waking me."

It was quiet as they both thought of the conversation Yuki had had with Haru the previous afternoon.

Finally, Yuki snapped out of it. "Um… I'll just go to the bathroom then…" Yuki said unsurely.

"Yeah…" Machi got up to go back to the living area, leaving the two feeling empty.

* * *

"OKAY!" Kimi hopped into the front seat. "This time, I'M DRIVING!"

Groans echoed through the rest of them, which consisted of Yuki, Machi, Hanajima, Manabe, Uotani, Tohru, Kyo, and Momiji. Haru, Hiro and Kisa, as well as the Trio, were staying behind, leaving it a teenage outing.

Manabe got into the seat next to Kimi, and after a few minutes of battling with the tuner, they decided on a station.

Tohru was on Kyo's lap again; Yuki next to them, and Hanajima was in between Uotani and Machi in the back. For reasons unknown, Momiji ended up on Yuki's lap.

The drive to the mall was a short, 20-minute one, filled with Kimi loudly singing some J-pop song.

When they reached they tried to decide what to do first. When they finally decided they would go shopping first, Kimi insisted that the girls and guys split, so that the girls could show all the guys their purchases when they got home.

So after the girls went off, the guys were left deciding what to do. Finally, they spotted an arcade and headed in.

Meanwhile, back with the girls, four of them blinked at Machi, who was staring back at them emotionlessly.

"Are you sure you don't want to buy ANY of these?" Tohru asked nervously.

Machi shook her head.

Silence.

"Well, then, lets move on… I want to check out Pac Sun and Hot Topic!" Uotani said excitedly.

"Yes, Hot Topic…" Hanajima grinned.

"EH?" Kimi sweated. "Those stores scare me!"

Tohru also looked down. "I… don't really feel welcome there…" She admitted.

Uotani sighed. "Fine, I promise I'll make it quick."

They went into Hot Topic, Kimi and Tohru looking nervous, and Machi, although unfazed, definitely did not fit in very well.

Uotani picked up a few things with chains and Hanajima picked out a very gothic dress.

Machi eyed the store while everyone watched carefully, not sure what to say.

Next they went to other stores where Tohru and Kimi searched around while Hanajima and Uotani shuddered.

Kimi looked around. "Where's Machi?"

The others looked around too, but Machi had disappeared.

* * *

Yuki looked around bored, as Manabe and Kyo battled it off on some videogame while Momiji cheered them on.

He saw a small crowd forming around a videogame as people gasped and cheered at someone playing a bloody shooting game.

Yuki curiously pushed his way over to see who it was. When he saw it, he almost burst out laughing. Machi was sitting there, playing the gory game with quite an indifferent look on her face, as people's heads were being ripped off in front of her. She was soaring through the levels easily, like an expert gamer.

Yuki leaned behind her and laughed. "You're pretty good at this game, Machi."

Machi looked up at Yuki and a shot rang through the game and "GAME OVER" flashed in red letters on the screen. Groans echoed through the crowd, as the onlookers departed disappointedly.

"Aren't you supposed to be shopping with the rest of the girls?" Yuki asked as Machi stood up.

Machi shrugged. "They were taking me to stores that I didn't really like, so I got bored and left them."

Yuki smiled. He knew something like this would happen. With Kimi and Tohru's sunny style and Uotani's punk and Hanajima's gothic, it's not a surprise that Machi would stray away with her simple style. "They're probably looking for you, you know." He said. She shrugged. Yuki continued. "Well, I'm getting bored with those idiots too," he jerked his head to the other three, still playing the game like zombies. "So, what do you say we get out of here, and see what we can do ourselves?"

Machi blushed a bit.

Yuki chuckled at the expression on her face. "Don't worry, it's not a date… unless you want it to be?" He raised an eyebrow playfully.

Machi blushed even deeper.

Yuki laughed. "Just kidding. Come on, let's go." He took her hand and the two left the arcade, looking around various stores.

They stopped at a bookstore first.

Machi looked absentmindedly through the shelves, and picked up a book. She flipped through it and read a few lines, but instantly turned red and put it back.

Yuki looked at the book and sweat dropped. It was by another one of Shigure's pen names.

He looked back at Machi to see her contently reading a romance novel. He went to her side and laughed softly. "You like romance novels, huh? I guess you learn something new everyday."

Machi blushed and quickly closed the book, checking the price. Her eyes widened and she hastily put it back.

Yuki also checked the price. It was quite expensive. Yuki looked at her and sighed. "I would buy it for you, but at the moment I don't think _I_ even have enough cash on me for that."

Machi shrugged. "It wasn't that good anyway."

The two left the bookstore. Yuki looked down at Machi. "Liar."

As they walked, Yuki noticed that Machi had stopped a few steps behind him. Yuki turned back to rejoin her as she looked at a dress inside a store.

Yuki smiled. "Do you want it?"

Machi looked down and shrugged, blushing.

Yuki walked into the store and flipped the price tag, Machi following. Yuki picked it off the rack. "It's in the budget. Besides, I think it suits you. I can't wait to see you in it." He gave her one last flirtatious grin and walked to the counter to purchase it.

Machi blushed, not knowing what to say.

* * *

OHHH! You don't get to find out how the dress looks until next chapter. And is Yuki being flirty?

Yuki: I can't believe you. I don't do the flirty stuff.

N-Chan: Of course you do! (Smile) This is my fan fiction and I can do whatever I please with you.

Yuki: Do you have any idea how sick you sound?

N-Chan: Yup! (Stupid grin)

Yuki: … (Sweat drop)


	12. Shopping With You

**Disclaimer:** Why does it rub in my face every time that I don't own Fruits Basket?

**A/N:** I haven't updated in a while because I was out on an overnight trip for four days! It was awesome (even though the girls in my cabin were bitches). But enough about my life, onto the new chapter! I'm putting some Tohru/Kyo in by request.

* * *

Kyo finally got bored of the videogame, and left Momiji and Manabe playing it. He noticed that Yuki had left the arcade, and he also shrugged and decided to adventure around the mall himself. He was just passing a Jasmine Sola when he saw Tohru inside by herself. Some guys were around her, and she looked nervous, and the guys were getting closer.

Kyo's temper snapped and stormed in, pushing the guys aside. He took Tohru's hand and turned to glare at the guys. "Stay away from my girlfriend, freaks!" He growled, scaring the guys away.

Once they had left, he turned to Tohru. "DUMBASS! You can't just wander around the mall by yourself! Weren't you ever told not to talk to shady guys?" He yelled.

Tohru looked down. "I'm sorry… I got separated from the others… so I decided to do some shopping on my own. And those guys just came up to me and started talking to me. I didn't know what to do!" She apologized nervously.

Kyo sighed. "It's okay. Just, be careful okay? You got me worried there."

Tohru paused a moment before turning to Kyo. "Kyo-kun? Just now… you…" She blushed. "You called me your girlfriend…"

Kyo blushed as well. "Um… s-sorry… I was, uh, just trying to scare away the perverts…" He cleared his throat and took her hand. "Anyway, why don't we go do some shopping of our own? We can look for the others, too."

Tohru smiled. "I'd like that." She suddenly turned to the rack next to her. "Well, I was thinking this sweater is cute, but I don't know how good it would look on me…" She said, picking up a sweater. "What do you think?"

Kyo laughed. "You're asking ME for fashion advice?"

Tohru thought about this and looked down. "I just wanted an opinion…"

Kyo sighed. "I was joking, you take things so literally. Well, if you ask me, I think…" He paused and gave her an intense look and warm smile. "I think anything could look good on you…"

Tohru blushed at this comment. "You're no help!" She giggled. "But, if you say so, I'll buy it anyway."

After they paid for it, Kyo and Tohru left Jasmine Sola to look around the rest of the mall. They stopped at several stores, but Tohru went through them all without buying anything, as Kyo watched in amazement at how girls shop. Tohru finally found something that caught her eye.

It was a silver necklace with a tiny cat on it. She looked at it for a long time, but hissed and backed away when she saw the price.

Kyo joined her. "You want that?" He asked her. He tried to ignore the fact that it was a cat.

She nodded. "It's too expensive, though. Come on, we should go." She said disappointedly.

Kyo checked the price and flinched slightly, but sighed in defeat. "Come on, moron, I'll buy it for you."

"Oh, no! That is, you don't have to! I really can't accept something like this!" She protested, as Kyo picked it up.

"Don't be stupid." Kyo said as he gave it to the lady at the counter. "It's a gift. Here." He handed her the bag with the box in it. "It's yours."

She blushed and took it. "Really, you didn't have to…" She said quietly, clutching the bag to her chest.

Kyo shrugged. "But I did." He thought for a second before asking. "Why'd you chose something with a cat on it?"

Tohru smiled. "That's easy. I like it the most! I've always loved cats!"

Kyo blushed at what that statement could be implying.

Tohru realized what she had said and blushed also. "Um, of course, I meant cats in general… I mean…" She looked down, face completely red.

Kyo laughed a little. "It's okay, stupid. I know what you mean." He took her hand. "Let's go see what else this mall can offer us."

Tohru smiled back.

* * *

A few stores later, Tohru and Kyo stood in front of Yuki and Machi, both couples blinking at each other.

"A date?" Yuki asked with raised eyebrows, signaling to their linked hands.

They quickly released each other. "No! What about you?" Kyo now indicated to Yuki and Machi's interlocked hands.

They also pulled away. "No…" Yuki replied. "I'm hungry. Let's find the others and get something to eat." He said, quickly changing the subject.

They all nodded in agreement, and went to search for their companions.

"What's in there?" Tohru asked Machi, who was clutching a bag to her chest like it was the only thing that kept her alive.

Machi blushed and shook her head. "It's… it's a secret…" She replied quickly before quickening her pace and walking ahead of Tohru.

Tohru blinked after her in confusion.

* * *

Okay, I admit it. You won't find out how the dress looks for a couple of chapters.

Shigure: OHH! The suspense is killing me! You really are an evil author!

N-Chan: (fufufu) Well, I'll keep you all wondering until later!

Shigure: Heh… I like the way you think…


	13. Getting Formal

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket. But… I WANNA F--- YOU LIKE AN ANIMAL! Actually, no, but I love that song. ("Closer" by Nine Inch Nails. I have it stuck in my head. And I don't own that either.)

**A/N:** Okay, I'm putting you out of your suspense and telling you about the dress this chapter. I don't think I could stand it much longer either. (Hums "Closer")

* * *

The teens returned home that evening worn out from the day's adventures. They were lounging around in the living area when Shigure waltzed in.

"GUESS WHAT!" He sang, standing at the front of the room.

"Do we WANT to know?" Kyo grumbled.

He ignored Kyo and went on. "I got reservations to one of the best restaurants in the city for all of us!"

"Really?" Tohru perked up suddenly.

"Yeah!" Shigure stated the restaurant's name and astonished looks came on their faces.

"Oh my! I… I can't go someplace that grand!" Tohru said frantically.

"But of course you can, my dear!" Ayame suddenly came into the room. "Because we're all going there tonight!"

Everyone in the room blinked at Ayame and Shigure.

"Oh, yeah, and it's FORMAL!" Shigure added with a grin.

"SAY WHAT?" Kyo suddenly bolted up.

"Formal!" He danced around the room as he spoke. "Every girl must wear a dress, every guy must wear a suit, and all the ladies must have an escort!"

Kyo collapsed onto the ground. "WHY…" He groaned, banging his head repetitively on the floor.

"So, we'll leave you to choose which man will escort which lady!" With that, Ayame and Shigure left.

"Oh, and I have dresses if anyone needs, and Hatori has suits for the guys!" Ayame poked his head in one last time before disappearing.

"Why… does he have _dresses?_" Yuki asked to no one in particular.

"Well, anyway, this escort business can be solved easily." Uotani said, shrugging. "I mean, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a _date_, so just choose a guy!"

"Okay! I'll take you Ari-chan!" Manabe volunteered.

Uotani turned to glare. _Damn it…_ "Fine…"

They were just about to continue, when the doorbell rang.

The group looked curiously towards the front door.

"I wonder who that is…" Tohru asked, getting up to get the door.

A squeal of delight was heard down the hallway. "SHISHOU-SAN! ISUZU-SAN!"

Haru and Kyo perked up instantly.

"Rin?"

"Shishou?"

Sure enough, a moment later, Tohru appeared in the living area, accompanied by Kazuma and a reluctant Rin.

"Hello everyone." Kazuma said with a smile.

Hanajima perked up. "Oh, look. Long time no see, Kazuma-san."

"Oh, hello Hanajima-san."

Kyo pricked up, and quickly came between the two. "H-hi Shishou… How are things at the dojo?"

Kazuma shrugged. "Fair. It got a bit dull, so I thought I should visit. I left Kunimitsu in charge and brought Rin down with me."

"HE DRAGGED ME HERE." Rin growled.

Haru stood up and joined her side, swinging an arm around her shoulders. "Oh come on, you know you just wanted to see me."

Rin blushed. "SHUT UP!"

Uotani, Kimi, and Manabe looked towards Yuki. "Are those two an item?"

Yuki nodded with a laugh. "Yeah."

Hanajima looked at Kazuma, with an eerily girlish sparkle in her eye. It was like Kimi… except… creepier. "Kazuma-san, we were about to head out to a fancy restaurant. It's formal, so we each need escorts. I was going to go with Hatsuharu-san, but since Isuzu-san is here, would you like to escort me?"

Kazuma smiled. "Of course."

"NO…!" Kyo grabbed a hold of Kazuma's kimono. "SHISHOU… DON'T…"

Kazuma gave him a sunny grin and patted his head. "You're being a silly child, Kyo. Don't worry, she won't steal me away from you!"

"THAT'S NOT… THE POINT!"

Haru turned to Rin. "I'm looking forward to seeing you in a nice, decent dress."

"Well, don't be expecting me to wear anything Ayame cooks up." She scoffed.

Breaking away from the commotion, Yuki turned to Machi, who had been sitting there silently the whole time. "Machi? Would it be alright if I was your escort?"

Machi nodded unaffectedly.

"Well…" Yuki paused before saying. "Wear the dress, okay?"

Machi looked up and blushed, but nodded in any case.

Kyo sat, fists curled, building up his courage. _Come on… just ask her…it doesn't mean anything… _Finally, he looked up at Tohru. "Hey, Tohru…" She looked up at him, making his heart race. "Well… um… that is… would you… you know, it doesn't really mean anything… but would you like me to be your escort?" He finally managed, looking at his hands with a blush growing on his face.

Tohru just blinked at first, but just when Kyo was about to give up hope, her face brightened. "Sure! Of course! I'll be happy to!"

Kyo looked up at her, and tried to keep his cool. _It doesn't really mean anything…_ He thought frantically. "Well, okay. Yeah…"

"Kimi-chan!" Momiji skipped across the room to Kimi. "I'll be your escort!" He said cheerfully.

Kimi nodded, cheeks slightly pink. "Okay!"

So in the end, the pairings were as followed: Kimi and Momiji, Kazuma and Hanajima, Uotani and Manabe, Yuki and Machi, Kyo and Tohru, Hatsuharu and Rin, Kisa and Hiro, Ayame and Shigure (WTF?), and Hatori was meeting a mystery woman at the restaurant, who was said to be invited by Shigure.

The girls all flocked into Kimi and Machi's room to get ready, and the guys reluctantly slipped on suits.

They lounged around the living area as they waited, occasionally glancing into the hallway as they heard peculiar noises coming from the girls' room.

"I've never put on a dress before… but it sounds painful." Kyo commented as another odd sound came from outside.

"Oh, I HAVE! It's actually not painful! It's the makeup that really kills… of course, you'd have to ask Ritsu about that—I've never worn makeup!" Momiji chattered.

The rest of the guys just stared.

* * *

"Hanajima-san, won't you wear anything but black?" Kimi wailed at Hanajima who was wearing a particularly lacy black dress, and she looked more like she was going to a funeral than a formal dinner.

"ARGH, how do you put this damn thing on?" Uotani growled as she tugged at a dress. "I HATE these things!"

"It's called a DRESS, Uo-chan!" Tohru giggled as she helped her friend out.

Everyone was rushing about getting ready and helping each other, Rin putting makeup on Kisa, who, in spite of being almost thirteen, had never worn any before.

Hanajima and Kimi were still arguing over Hanajima's style, Kimi doing the multitasking of yelling AND putting pins into her hair, all at once!

Uotani and Tohru were still struggling with the dress, Tohru trying to convince her friend that it was SUPPOSED to be long and flowing, while Uotani kept fiddling with the skirt.

Finally everyone was ready and one by one, they entered the living area.

Kimi skipped in first in a strappy hot pink dress, followed by Hanajima and her gothic garb.

"WAH—Kimi-chan looks so pretty!" Momiji took Kimi's hands and the two skipped around for a bit.

"You look quite… sophisticated…" Kazuma commented on Hanajima's wardrobe, not sure of what else he could say.

"Why thank you." She replied, batting her eyelashes shamelessly as Kyo cried in the corner.

They were observing each other intently, Kazuma wearing a suit for the first time.

_He looks quite young… very muscular…_ Hanajima thought to herself, smiling.

_She is very beautiful…_Kazuma thought, but quickly scolded himself mentally. _Stop having such thoughts, Kazuma, you're at least ten years older than her—perhaps even fifteen! Don't turn into Shigure!_

Uotani and Tohru came next, Uotani complaining endlessly about the long, navy blue dress she wore, and how it itched where the halter dress hugged her neck.

Tohru giggled and looked at Kyo, who was temporarily lost for words. Tohru had a pale pink dress on. It was fairly modest, spaghetti-strapped, but not too low cut. She tugged at it self consciously, watching Kyo nervously, but he just kept staring dumbly at her.

"Come on, stupid cat, say something—don't just stare idiotically." Yuki rolled his eyes at his love struck cousin.

"EWW—KYO-KUN'S HAVING SICK THOUGHTS!" Manabe brought Kyo out of his vertigo.

"AM NOT!" He snapped, blushing. He glared at Manabe a moment before turning to Tohru, his eyes softening. "You look… wonderful…" He said softly, fiddling with his shirt collar nervously, looking down at his shoes, blushing.

Tohru blushed as well. "Thank you… you look good too."

Kyo shrugged. "It itches." He replied, making her giggle slightly.

"Ari-chan, stop fiddling with your dress, you look pretty!" Manabe told Uotani, who was still tugging at her skirt.

"Shut up and quit acting like my boyfriend!" Uotani snapped at Manabe, who looked betrayed.

"I was just being a good friend! Besides, I would never cheat on my beloved…" He stopped to once again daydream about his girlfriend.

Uotani rolled her eyes.

Kisa and Rin followed, Rin in a fairly decent (for her) dress—a slinky black strapless with a high cut on the skirt. Kisa was almost hiding behind her shyly, wearing a frilly yellow dress that made her look—in short—like a princess.

Hatsuharu ran his finger's through Rin's short hair, smiling. "You just keep getting cuter everyday, huh?" He said to her, making her blush and mumble something like "flatterer".

Hiro and Kisa stood, awkwardly facing each other and blushing, not too experienced in such things.

Hatori and Shigure walked in wearing suits, and for a long moment, everyone expected Ayame to come out in drag, but thankfully, he emerged also wearing a suit.

"Whatever rumors that Shigure was Ayame's escort is a lie. Don't believe a word that comes out of their mouths—no matter what they say they are both STRAIGHT." Hatori explained, arms crossed over his chest.

"You don't have to cover up our relationship any longer, Hatori." Ayame looked dreamily at Shigure. "I can no longer stay out of your embrace, Gure-san…"

"I am so glad you have finally joined me in kindling the warm fire of our passion and love." Shigure replied, his face taking on the same expression.

"ALRIGHT!" They both gave each other thumbs up.

"DON'T LISTEN TO THEM." Hatori growled.

So, ultimately, they were all crammed into the living area, waiting for one person. Finally, Yuki stood. "I'm going to go check on her." He told the others, going down the hall.

"Machi?" He knocked on the door. There was no answer. "Come out… please? We're all waiting for you."

"I'm not going!" A voice came from within.

Yuki laughed. "Don't be silly. Come out, or I'm going to break the door down." He threatened playfully.

There was a shuffling noise on the other side before Machi emerged, blushing.

Yuki's breath was caught in his throat.

Machi stood in the dress that he had bought her, and it suited her perfectly. It was a deep red colored halter dress that hugged her figure before it flowed out at the skirt. She wore strappy silk heels (most likely borrowed from Kimi) that brought her closer to Yuki's height.

Yuki ran his fingers gently through her silky brown hair with a soft smile. "What are you so shy about? You look beautiful." When she looked down, unconvinced, he lifted her chin and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, making her turn almost as red as her dress. "You worry too much." He laughed. "Now come on, we've got to go."

He slipped his hand over hers and the two walked into the living area to be greeted by whistles and catcalls.

"Out of all the couples, I'd have to say, those two look the best together." Shigure told Hatori, scoffing.

Hatori nodded, smiling, before turning to Shigure with a furrowed brow. "So, who _is_ this mystery woman you asked to meet us. You said that I would be her escort?"

Shigure chuckled mischievously. "That's a S-E-C-R-E-T! You'll see when we get there!"

* * *

AHAHAHA! Okay, I couldn't resist. Another CLIFFIE! Although I bet you can all guess who it is? See you next chappy! 


	14. Hatori's Surprise Date

**Disclaimer:** Why do I have to tell you every time? I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Man have I been a lazy ass. Well, its not like I had much of a chance to write, with school, and those Christmas one-shots… So yeah, be nice! (Hides)

Oh I got funny review from Noriko: what if Hatori's mystery date is AKITO? The thought made me laugh to myself. Thanks.

Oh yeah, and thanks to my reviewers/readers for being patient! As a treat, I'll be putting in lots of Kyo/Tohru, since that's been a common demand from everyone.

* * *

Well, the car arrangements were the same as before, except now Momiji and Hatsuharu were riding in Kazuma's car with Rin and Hanajima (who insisted on riding with them). 

In Hatori's car, he and Shigure were sitting in the front seat, Hatori at the wheel. "So… who's this mystery date you have for me?" Hatori tried to sound casual, but he was actually a bit anxious at what Shigure had in store for him. That man was just unpredictable.

"You'll see, you'll see…" Shigure sang, giggling like a schoolgirl.

"I know who it is!" Ayame chimed in, waving his hands around, slapping the other two passengers in the backseat, Kisa uncomfortably sliding away, and Hiro yelling at him.

"We're here." Hiro said unaffectedly to nobody in particular. Hatori pulled into the lot and parked, the others in the car pushing their way out. They found that a couple of spaces away, the other two groups were unloading from their cars.

"I get to drive next time, though!" Manabe whined as soon as he got out of the passenger seat, Yuki emerging from the drivers with a solid "NO."

"You're so mean Yun-Yun!"

The three groups joined and paired up, linking arms.

Hanajima hugged closer to a slightly blushing Kazuma and Tohru and Kyo were the reddest of all. Uotani and Manabe were arguing, as per usual, and Momiji and Kimi were giggling like five-year-olds going to a candy store. Ayame and Shigure were chattering about god knows what, and Hatori was still eyeing the surrounding area, searching for someone familiar.

Black heels clicked on the pavement, as slender legs stepped out of a car. A flowing black dress swished around the knees and hugged the torso emerged after. The echoing sound of a car door closing made Hatori's gaze snap towards it, and his eyes widened when he saw who was standing a few feet away. Mayuko stood clutching a purse under her arm and rubbing it with the other self-consciously. "H-Hatori?" she questioned when she saw him. Hatori was completely lost for words, his gaze running over Mayuko's gracefully defined contours and loose hair over her rounded, blushing face.

Shigure appeared over Hatori's shoulder and stifled some laughter. "Look's like you found your date!" he sang, and when Mayuko's gaze found Shigure's she burst into anger.

"YOU! You told me it would just be me and you, discussing some affairs about the bookstore and the kids at school!" She growled, pointing sharply to Shigure, who shrank back, hiding behind Hatori, still laughing.

Hatori sighed. "You got tricked by Shigure again?"

Mayuko admitted defeat and crossed her arms, huffing. "Yeah. But since I came all the way here, we might as well…" She looked up at Hatori somewhat shyly, searching for approval.

Hatori nodded, and smiled somewhat, offering her his arm. "We might as well."

She blushed and took it, and the pair walked to rejoin the group, followed by a positively gleeful Shigure.

"Mayuko-sensei?" Tohru said as the three arrived. The others who attended their high school also looked up, confused.

"WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE?" Mayuko yelled to Shigure, a blush growing on her face.

Shigure laughed. "They're on this trip too. I hope you don't mind!" He said almost sarcastically.

"OF COURSE I MIND, THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING!" She roared, her hands tearing into her hair.

Kyo scoffed. "I guess now I have some blackmail for when you threaten to dye my hair again."

"Shut up, carrot-top!"

"AH!" Tohru folded her hands and brought them to her chest, looking up at Mayuko, her eyes shining. "I think it's wonderful! You and Hatori-san would make a very adorable couple!" She giggled, her voice dripping with girlish excitement.

Mayuko's blush deepened, as did Hatori's, and she shook her head nervously and stammered. "We're not… I mean… I wouldn't go as far as to say… You really think we'd be cute?" She shook her head and began talking a mile a minute. "I mean, no! That's not how it came out it's not like that with us we're just friends I mean what would give you the idea that I like him I don't of course I don't we're not going out we're just…" Mayuko's ramble was stopped by Hatori's hand on her bare shoulder. Her stomach fluttered as she looked up, her heart racing.

Hatori was smiling down at her. "It's ok, Mayu. Let's just get this dinner over with, alright?"

Mayuko nodded, still red, and the group headed into the restaurant. As they were walking through the door, Mayuko realized something, and looked up at Hatori suddenly. He was busy telling Uotani something, but Mayuko remembered his words and some hope and joy filled her with heat.

_He called me Mayu…_

* * *

Ok, short chapter, but the restaurant one's going to be long, so I wanted to split it up. Sorry I haven't updated since like, November! 

Review please! X3


	15. Chaos In Dinner, Chaos In Love

**Disclaimer:** Yes... once again, I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Okay, don't kill me for like, never updating! (cowers) I've been having a lot of computer issues, school issues, a social life, drawing mania, and yes, the dreaded writer's block. Yeah. I'm really sorry, I'll try to update more often! Now, since we changed computers, I don't even have Microsoft Word (because my dad lost the disc! (growl)) so I'm doing everything on WordPad. You don't appreciate spellcheck until it's gone. But on the bright side, I don't have to deal with the annoying squiggly lines.

* * *

In one, synchronized motion, all the males pulled the chairs out for the females, and several murmurs of thanks echoed. Kyo took the seat next to Tohru and crossed his arms, huffing. "I don't get why we had to do this stupid stuff anyway. Tohru's home cooking is better than any shit these people could make!" he growled.

"Whatever. I really need a drink…" Mayuko rubbed her forehead. "Sake…" she murmured.

"Now, now, don't get too drunk Mayuko." Shigure teased. "Remember what happened LAST time we went drinking with you?"

Mayuko blushed and slapped Shigure with the menu she was holding. "DON'T YOU DARE SAY A WORD ABOUT THAT!"

"Oh, I remember!" Ayame laughed. "Oh yes, that was quite… exhilarating. You even had HATORI staring long and hard with his eyes wide open."

"I WAS NOT." Hatori protested firmly.

The younger ones in the group and Kazuma just watched them go at it with confused expressions on their faces.

"I'm not sure I WANT to know." Yuki mumbled.

"But of COURSE you do!" Ayame laughed. "Another wonderful opportunity to get to know what your brother and his friends do when they are drunk!"

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you ALWAYS drunk, anyway?"

Ayame ignored him. "Well, one night, we went for a drink and I think Mayu was depressed or something, because she chugged more than most of us could handle. Then, we managed to drag her staggering drunken stupor to my shop, where Mine got a hold of her. And then… get this… she…"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP!" Mayuko yelled again now turning on Ayame and temporarily forgetting Shigure, giving him the opportunity to blurt out the rest of the story.

"She dressed up in one of Ayame's dresses, served us tea, and then did a strip show for us." Shigure laughed, earning two smacks over the head with Mayuko's menu.

An utter silence followed, the rest of them staring at the four with eyes wide as saucers.

After the long pause, Uotani and Manabe burst out laughing, Rin scoffing slightly, and Tohru looked down into her lap, beet red.

"What the…" Kyo's mouth hung open, and even Kimi was sent into silence.

"I did NOT need to know that." Yuki muttered. Hanajima and Haru remained as passive as ever and Hiro and Kisa blushed wildly and looked down as well.

"SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?" Mayuko stood up and turned on Ayame and Shigure, who were just chuckling in recollection. "YOU HAVE FOREVER TARNISHED MY NAME IN FRONT OF MY STUDENTS!" She roared. Hatori could swear he saw smoke coming from her ears.

The waiter came along and tapped Mayuko on the shoulder. "Excuse me, miss. You're going to have to keep it down, you're disturbing the other customers."

Mayuko blushed deeper and sank back down into her chair. "Sorry…"

The waiter cleared his throat. "Anyway, what would you like to order?"

It was a Chinese place. Tohru looked down into the menu a moment before looking up. "I would like the fried rice without the shrimp, and some sesame chicken." The waiter nodded and scrawled it down.

Everyone else took their turns to order and waited in silence for the meal to come, still in shock from the previous conversation.

"So, Hatori…" Manabe broke the silence. "Was she good?"

Hatori blushed and gave Mayuko a fleeting glance before looking away in silence.

Manabe, Ayame, Shigure, and Uotani burst into laughter again at his lack of response, and Rin smirked. "So you liked it, eh?" Manabe teased.

"… It's not just that…" Hatori said slowly. "I'm just afraid to say anything."

The others turned to see Mayuko glaring daggers at him, an aura of flames shooting from her. The laughter immediately faded.

"Damn, how long do we have to wait for the food?" Kyo muttered, scowling.

On cue, the waiter arrived at their table and set dishes on the table.

Several murmurs of "thank you" echoed as the waiter left and the group dug in.

Yuki turned to Machi who was picking delicately at her food. "Do you like it?" he asked her lightly.

She gave a slight nod in response, and Yuki smiled. "I'm glad." He said with a pat on her head. She blushed silently.

"Hey, Tohru?"

"Hm?" Tohru looked up at Kyo to see him staring worriedly at her.

"Are you okay? You look kind of... sick..." Kyo reached up and stroked the side of her face, making her heart hammer. "But you don't have a fever..."

Tohru furrowed her brows, scratching her arm. "I don't know I..." she scratched her other arm. "I..."

"Tohru? What's wrong?" Kyo's eyes darted to her arms, which were now as red as her face.

Tohru looked at her plate. "Oh no!" she exclaimed, making the rest of the group go quiet and look up at her. "They forgot to take out the shrimp... I'm allergic!" She whimpered slightly.

"They WHAT!"

Everybody's gaze flipped to Kyo, who had suddenly stood up, fuming.

"It's not a big deal... Kyo-kun..." Tohru nervously muttered.

"It is too! Where's that damn waiter!" Kyo said, eyes narrowing.

Once again, on cue, the waiter came over to ask how things were going.

"Things are going terribly! How could you mess up her order!" Kyo roared at the slightly sweating waiter.

"Um... I believe I did write down no shrimp. I apologize, the chef must have made a mistake." He stammered in reply.

"That's it..." Kyo said, rolling up his sleeves dangerously. "I'm going to give that chef a piece of my mind."

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru gasped.

"Kyo..." Kazuma warned, but he had tuned the rest of the world out.

Yuki sighed, realizing that this was going to be another one of Kyo's stupid outbursts.

Kyo stormed into the kitchen. The others sweat-dropped as they heard violent shouting and punching coming from inside. "Excuse me." Kazuma said, getting up. Another series of shouting and punching was heard until Kazuma emerged from the kitchen straightening his tie, and pulling a scowling Kyo out by the ear. "We're leaving." Kazuma annouced calmly, obviously used to dealing with Kyo's temper.

The rest, who were shocked, appalled, and in fits of laughter (well, Manabe, anyway), silently nodded and got up to leave, while Shigure stayed behind to take care of the check.

"Stupid cat, you always get us into trouble!" Yuki growled.

"Just shut up and get driving!" Kyo yelled in reply.

They piled into their appropriate cars and set out.

"We're going to have to stop at a pharmacy to buy some allergy medicine for Tohru." Uotani said as they turned out of the parking lot.

Yuki nodded. "I think I saw one on the way in."

They drove to a pharmacy and parked. "Why doesn't one of you go with her, just in case something happens while she's there." Yuki suggested. "And plus it's late, you never know what kind of shady people are hanging around."

Before anyone could volunteer, Kyo gave a gruff "I'll go" and glared around, daring anyone else to say anything.

Uotani looked at Hanajima, who nodded. "All right. Take care of her Kyo."

Kyo blushed. "It's not like you're giving her away to be married!" He muttered before helping Tohru out of the car.

They walked silently down the aisles, Tohru scanning the medicine aisle for allergy medicine. She found one and plucked it off the shelf, and turned to Kyo.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly, shuffling his feet. "I ruined it for all of us."

Tohru's face broke into a warm smile. "It's okay, Kyo-kun. You were just sticking up for me. Just try not to act so rashly next time."

Kyo raked his fingers through his hair, his eyes remaining on the floor as a blush grew on his face. "Yeah... it's just that... when it comes to you... I just kind of... lose it. I don't know, you're so..." _dear._ Kyo stopped himself before he could finish the statement.

Tohru's smile only grew. "I understand... I think..." she reached up and took his hand, which was still running nervously through his orange locks. She laced her fingers in his and pulled it down. "I noticed that you have a nervous habit of running your fingers through your hair." She giggled. "Come on."

A brightly smiling Tohru and a deeply blushing Kyo walked to the counter, never releasing their hands.

Meanwhile, there was the usual commotion in the car.

"Kimi wants to sit in the front with Yun-Yun!" Kimi wailed at Manabe, who was currently occupying the passenger seat.

"No! Yun-Yun and I aren't done discussing dirty magazines yet!"

"WE WEREN'T DISCUSSING DIRTY MAGAZINES."

The bickering continued, and the others, who were used to it by now, just sighed.

"I... I want to sit in the front with Yuki." Everybody looked back at Machi, surprised at her sudden assertiveness. "That is... um... if it's alright with you." Her voice got softer, and she blushed, noticing that everyone was staring at her.

Manabe blinked. "Okay." He said, opening the door.

"HEY! WHY WON'T YOU LET KIMI SIT THERE, BUT LET MACHI SIT THERE?" Kimi whined even more.

Machi silently exited the car and as the passed each other, Manabe paused to put a hand on Machi's head. "Don't fall too deep for him. Your prince is hiding a lot." He whispered.

Machi's face turned red and eyes widened, but Manabe got into the car as if nothing had happened. Machi also got into the car and sat next to Yuki. She glanced up at him, still blushing. Yuki looked at her for a moment before his face broke into a genuine grin, one that he mostly reserved just for Tohru. He suddenly felt shy, and had a fluttering feeling in his chest as he looked at her blushing face. A blush grew on his own face as he looked forward. "I... I'm happy you wanted... to be near me. I... like being near you too..." He said quietly. For the first time, the Prince had failed to articulate his words in a perfectly graceful manner. Machi also turned her gaze forward, the blush not leaving her face.

"I... I'm happy too." Yuki heard Machi whisper, almost drowned out by the chaos going on in the back seats. He smiled wider and ran his fingers through his hair nervously, feeling awkward for the first time. Before, he had just really liked Machi. A bit of a crush, he guessed. It was easy to tease and flirt with her. But now, he realized, he was really falling in love with her.

"Hey, Tohru and Orangey are back!" Uotani commented. The two piled in and they started home. As they drove, one of Yuki's hands crept over and laced itself with Machi's. Without protesting, Machi let her fingers and his fingers intertwine as they sped along the dark highway, the stars winking down on them.

"Hey Yun-Yun?"

"Hm?"

"Are we there yet?"

"MANABE!"

* * *

I loved this chapter! I'm so proud of it, I hope you guys enjoyed it too! Now I'm going to write more fics, and read over this one again to refresh my memory and hopefully come up with more ideas. Some suggestions would help. I'm thinking of doing a Haru/Rin segment, Hana/Kazuma segment, and bring Kagura into it and pair her with an OC. We'll see. 


	16. Official

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Yay, I'm updating faster again. Now, the romance is gonna start heating up, so get ready for fluffiness! This one is going to be mostly Yuki and Machi, but there WILL be some Kyo and Tohru, I PROMISE! But those two won't ACTUALLY get together until later. This is due to their various psychological problems and cluelessness. Stupid psychological problems. Damn cluelessness.

* * *

The next morning went as usual. Yuki was the last one awake, no surprise there, and since the day that he beat up Manabe when he last tried to wake him up early, nobody dared to enter the room. Well, except Machi. Everybody knew this of course, and would always leave Machi to waking up their "Princess Yuki". She was the only one capable of coming out alive.

"Yuki..." Machi whispered to his sleeping form. "Wake up!" She said gently, but firmly. Yuki turned over to his back and barely squinted his eyes open.

"Wha... Mach... eh... five more... minutes..." He mumbled, closing his eyes once again.

"Yuki!" Machi said, a little harsher this time. When he didn't respond, she watched him for a moment, taking the chance to observe him as thoroughly as she could. His loose pajamas were rolled up at the sleeves, and unbuttoned at the top, revealing some of his smooth, firm chest. (Machi blushes and quickly looks elsewhere.) His face was angellic, his silver hair splayed on his pillow. His eyebrows were gracefully arched over the long lashes of his closed eyes. His lips... they were a pale pink, soft... perfect. "Yuki..." Machi said in barely a whisper, not being able to control herself. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on those perfect lips. "Wake up..." she said as she broke off.

Yuki's eyes snapped open and he looked up at her, his face turning redder than it had ever before. Machi realized what she had done and sat straight abruptly, falling backwards in the process. She quickly recovered and stood up, before scrambling out the door, stumbling all the way.

Yuki also bolted up to a sitting position, his hand over his mouth, his heart beating a mile a minute. _Her lips... they were so soft... so... perfect..._ He looked to the door and thought about how she was just as red as he is, and started to laugh inspite of everything. He got up and dressed, humming extremely happily.

The others in the house however, were left in a mystery. All they saw was Machi stumble into the dining hall looking very flustered, and then taking a seat and dropping her chopsticks a few times before she could hold them steady. Then, Yuki came in, looking absolutely elated, and took a seat next to Machi, who dropped her chopsticks again. Both of them looked at each other, turned red, and looked away again.

"Thank you for... waking me up." Yuki said quietly, smiling.

"Y-you're welcome..." Machi stammered in response.

Manabe and Hatsuharu smirked to themselves, Hatori raised his eyebrows, and Shigure and Ayame giggled and exchanged knowing looks.

The rest had figured it out as well, even Kisa and Hiro. Well... except Kyo, who remained as clueless as ever, and too conscious of Tohru to notice.

"Can you feel the love tonight..." Hanajima sang in a low, creepy voice, sparks jetting from her head.

Silence. Stares.

Suddenly, the door slid open, and people look towards it, confused, having thought that everyone was already in the room. Mayuko walked in, yawning and looking extremely tired, before collasping down at the table next to Hatori, and then falling asleep on his shoulder. Hatori looked a bit red for a moment, but it quickly passed and he was as calm and collected as ever, gently nudging her awake.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" demanded Kyo and Uotani at once.

"Do you HAVE to scream this early in the morning?" Mayuko groaned, rubbing her head. "And as for why I'm here, it goes a little something like this."

_Flashback_

"Ugh, I have to now go and hang out at my summer home with, yes, my parents. I think my mother is planning to have me see suitors." Mayuko muttered darkly as everyone got into their cars the night before. "Ah, save me!" She wailed, looking to Hatori who was walking her to her car (at the request of Shigure).

Hatori thought a moment, before suggesting. "Well, you could always come and stay with us for a while, if you want. We have plenty of room in our summer home, even with all the kids. And its anything but dull." He added with a slight laugh.

Mayuko looked up at him, practically sparkling. "Really?" When Hatori nodded, she punched the air with her fist. "Yes! I don't have to deal with suitors. I mean, I don't really want to marry any of them anyway, since I already like..." She stopped, and looked up at Hatori who was looking curiously at her. "Well, what I mean to say is, thank you so much!" Mayuko bowed before turning around to go to her car, and then turning back again. "Uh... where is it?" After getting directions from Hatori, she turned to her car again.

Before turning around again.

"Uh... Hatori." Before he could respond, she turned to face her car again. "Ah, nevermind!" Just as Hatori was going to walk away, she turned to face him again. "What the heck!"

To his surprise she grabbed him by his tie and pulled him down, placing her lips over his. When she let go, Hatori was standing there, with wide eyes and a tinge of pink on his cheeks. Mayuko turned completely red and turned around in circles. "I... should NOT have done that. I really shouldn't have done that!" She looked at Hatori. "I... I'm sorry... uh... pretend that never happened!" With that she turned around and got into her car and drove away. Hatori however, remained rooted on the spot, his blush growing, running his fingers absently through his hair.

_End Flashback_

"And that's how it happened." Mayuko said after she explained, (well, obviously leaving out their little kiss).

Hatori tinged pink as he remembered, and looked down at his tea.

"THIS... COULD SUCK... A LOT..." Kyo grumbled, banging his head on the edge of the table.

Mayuko laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not here as your teacher, so go get into as many fights and have as many scandalous affairs as you want, I don't really care what you do. Just shut up for now, last night was rough, and I'm tired."

"Did you and Hatori have a nice, 'rough' time?" Manabe scoffed as Mayuko fell over and Hatori choked on his tea.

"STOP SAYING DIRTY THINGS YOU DAMN BRAT! THE ONLY 'ROUGH NIGHT' I HAD WAS BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS AND YOUR DINNER MAYHEM. SO JUST... shut... up..." Mayuko once again collapsed asleep.

* * *

The gang had decided to stay at home for a while, having had enough excitement the past few days. So, they mostly just hung around and found their own ways to entertain themselves. But as Hatori had promised Mayuko, there was never a dull moment with this group.

"YOU LOSE ORANGEY!" Uotani cackled putting down her cards.

"NOT AGAIN, DAMMIT!" Kyo growled, ripping his hair out. "I'LL WIN NEXT TIME!"

"That's what you said last time, and the time before, and the time before that..." Yuki sighed.

"I won." Hanajima said.

"I got second!" Tohru squealed.

"I WILL BE FIRST NEXT TIME!"

"I'm leaving..." Yuki grumbled, getting up.

"A-are you not enjoying yourself, Yuki-kun?" Tohru asked anxiously.

Yuki shook his head. "No, it's not that..." His voice trailed off as he looked towards the door.

Tohru giggled. "Oh, I see! Say hi to Kuragi-san for me!"

Yuki blushed slightly. _Am I that transparent?_ He thought as he walked out of the room. _Well, I suppose everyone's guessed by now after everything thing that's happened..._

Yuki looked for Machi around the house for a while, but when he really couldn't find her, he finally gave up and went back to his room, deciding she must have gone out somewhere. He slid his outside door open and stepped onto the back porch, enjoying the light breeze. He looked around at the pond and trees, before finally turning his gaze back to the porch. Not too far from him, he saw a figure laying at the edge of the porch, trailing her fingers through the grass next to it. Yuki smiled when he realized it was just the person he was looking for. He walked up to her, his bare feet barely making a sound as he moved, and sat behind her. Machi seemed to be in her own little world, not noticing his presence. Yuki smiled and leaned forward, kissing her cheek. As he drew back, she jerked up suddenly, and their foreheads clashed unexpectedly.

"Ow..."

"I-I'm sorry, Yuki-san!" Machi said frantically.

"It's okay... but... hey... when did you start calling me 'Yuki-_san_' again?" He asked, rubbing his head. "I liked it... when you stopped calling me President-san, and then Sohma-san turned to Yuki-san, and then, finally, Yuki."

"W-well, I just remembered how informal I was with you... and it seemed... improper." Machi explained, looking down.

"Well, isn't it okay to be informal? After everything that's happened...?" Yuki asked unsurely, leaning back onto the walls of the house. "After... this morning..."

Machi blushed and began stammering nervously. "Th-that... that wasn't... I mean... I was just... We're not really official or anything!"

Yuki reached over and tilted her chin up so she looked into his eyes. "Machi... do you... love me?"

Machi's heart hammered so hard she thought it would fall out of her chest. "I... I... m-maybe I... do..."

Yuki chuckled. "Well, I've fallen head over heels, I know that for sure. I know I've found someone who understands me... the one person who completes me. That person is Machi." Machi blushed even more. "So..." Yuki grinned. "Shall we make it official, then?"

"H-hai..." Machi said, robbed of any other words.

Yuki's smile widened and he took her face in both of his hands and leaned over, placing a kiss on her lips.

And the rest of the house, who were all peering in and holding their breaths, let out a sigh and laughed. "Finally."

* * *

Okay, so this was a Yuki/Machi focused chapter. Don't worry, Kyoru fans, the next chapter will be focused directly on Kyo and Tohru, with some Kagura angst on the side. Yay! 


	17. Unrequited

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket, nyah.

**A/N:** Get ready Kyoru fans! There's gonna be fluff-o-mania in this chappy. Not to mention a lotta sad stuff with Kagura. But Kagura (sort of) hooks up very unexpectedly with someone else in the story. (gasp) Who will it be?

* * *

The next morning was pretty quiet, and most people giggled to themselves as they gave sidelong glances towards Machi and Yuki.

"Do you think they know?" Machi asked Yuki in a whisper.

"...I would have to guess that they do." Yuki muttered darkly. Filthy spies.

"YUN-YUN!"

"And here's the worst of them all..." Yuki sighed.

"I HAVE COME TO GIVE MY APPROVAL!" Manabe said, coming between Yuki and Machi.

"I don't need your approval!" Yuki growled.

"But of course you do!" He took Machi's hand and placed it in Yuki's. "The School Defense Corps Black Ranger has approved of this union. Please, our leader Red Ranger, take care of my faithful sister, Yellow Ranger!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! WE'RE NOT FREAKIN GETTING MARRIED!" Yuki snapped, pulling his hand back, blushing, as Machi blushed equally.

Suddenly, a rumble was heard in the distance and the whole hall fell quiet.

"That... noise..." Shigure twitched.

"It can only be..." Yuki whispered.

"NOOO... KAGURA!" Kyo cried, standing up to escape.

Too late.

Kagura came bursting through the back wall of the dining room, glomping Kyo. "KYO-KUUUUUNNNNN! YOUR DEAR KAGURA HAS COME TO GIVE YOU SUMMER LOVE!"

"I DON'T NEED ANY SUMMER LOVE FROM YOU!" Kyo choked from beneath her deadly grasp.

"Ah... the house..." Shigure cried. "At least I'm not the one who has to pay for repairs this time..."

Everybody except the Sohmas, who were accustomed to this, stared with looks of horror.

"Orangey has a girlfriend?" Uotani asked, laughing.

"YES!" (Kagura)

"NO!" (Kyo)

"YES." Kagura glared, eyes glowing.

"W-whatever you say..." Kyo gulped.

"Kids these days sure have strange relationships." Mayuku scoffed.

"I wouldn't exactly call this... a relationship..." Hatori explained.

"Yes, yes." Ayame chimed in. "It's more like, imprisonment. Poor Kyon-kichi."

"I see how it is." Mayuki laughed. "Like I said, kids these days."

XXX

"Kyo-kun, will you help me clear the wash the dishes?" Tohru asked Kyo as she cleared the table. Kyo was just about the only person she asked anything of.

"Uh... y-yeah..." Kyo said, prying Kagura off of him. "Would you go hang around somewhere else for a while?" He told her, frustrated.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"N-nothing..."

So Kagura stood watch at the doorway of the kitchen as Kyo and Tohru washed the dishes.

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru giggled as Kyo splashed her with water. "Cut it out!"

"All right, here." Kyo took a towel and wiped her face.

She blushed slightly. "Thanks."

Kyo blushed too. "No problem."

"NO THIS WILL NOT DO AT ALL!" Kagura burst between them.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"K-Kagura-san!"

"I cannot allow you to have Kyo-kun without a formal fight!" Kagura said, turning on Tohru.

"W-what?" Tohru blushed and stepped back.

"You feel the same way I do about him, don't you?" Kagura demanded.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about!" Tohru stammered, turning red.

"TOHRU! DON'T LIE TO ME!" Kagura said, her boarish side suddenly taking over as she slapped Tohru.

"KAGURA!" Kyo yelled, pushing her away from Tohru.

"N-no, Kyo-kun, it's okay." Tohru said, walking up to Kagura. "What do you want to do?"

"A contest!" Kagura said. "To see who is better suited for Kyo-kun. Will you accept? Whoever wins, gets Kyo-kun."

An unreadable expression crossed Tohru's face before it took on a determined look. "I... I accept your challenge Kagura-san."

Kagura grinned. "All right! This challenge comes in four parts. Ichi! Cooking. Ni! Cleaning. San! Serving. Shi! Kids. Are you ready, Tohru-kun?"

"H-hai!" Tohru nodded.

Both women raced out the door to go shopping for lunch, leaving a stunned Kyo in the kitchen. "W-what just happened?"

* * *

"ALLLL RIGHT!" Manabe announced into the mic (from the karaoke machine they randomly found in the attic). "LET'S BEGIN WITH PROJECT LOVE-LOVE-KYON!"

Cheers exploded from the fans (the rest of the house who had come to watch the fun).

"SINCE WHEN DID THIS TURN INTO A GAMESHOW?" Kyo demanded hopelessly from where they had tied him to a post as the prize.

"For this first round Tohru-san and Kagura-san will face off in making the best rice, cod, and miso soup for Kyon!" Manabe continued, ignoring him. "Our judges will be Sohma Shigure, Uotani Ari-chan, annnddd Toudou Kimi!"

"Engarde!" Shigure waved.

"WHY ARI-CHAN?" Uotani roared.

"YAY! Kimi is a JUDGE!" Kimi cheered.

"Are the contestants ready?" Manabe asked, turning to Kagura and Tohru, who had put on their aprons, ingredients spread in front of them. Both nodded. "OKAY THEN ON THE COUNT OF FIVE! Ichi... Ni... San... Shi... GOOOO!"

Both of them began chopping vegetables, boiling water, and doing other cooking stuff frantically. The onlookers watched in amazement. Kagura worked like a monster, hacking away at the vegetables with a red glow in her eyes, while Tohru worked carefully and patiently with a determined look in her eyes.

"Wow, they're both on fire..." Yuki observed, munching popcorn.

Machi nodded, a popsicle hanging from her mouth.

After a little time, the two presented their dishes. Tohru's was neatly done, while Kagura's half hung out of her plate.

"Uh... which brave one is going to taste Kagura's?" Kimi asked, cringing sligtly.

"I vote the pervert." Uotani replied, pushing Shigure forward.

"Why me?" Shigure sobbed, tentatively picking at the cod with his chopsticks. He took a bite and blinked for a moment, before his face turned blue. "Ex...cuse me..." He muttered before running to the bathroom. Violent vomiting was heard from outside.

"OOKKKAYYY... It's safe to say Tohru-kun won that round. We'll be back after these breif messages from our sponsors."

"What sponsors?"

Five minutes later:

"We are pleased to inform you, that Sohma Shigure-san has been taken care of, and is now in bed recovering from food poisoning. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. ROUND TWO!" Manabe announced. Each will have to clean their own half of the hallway. Whoever finishes first and shiniest, wins that round! Our judges will be... Sohma Yun-Yun, Sohma Momiji, and the master of shiny-ness himself, Sohma Ayame!"

"Why me?" Yuki grumbled, having been dragged to the judges table and tied to his chair.

"I suppose I AM the master of all things that shine!" Ayame laughed.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" Momiji demanded. Yuki leaned over and whispered something in his ear, making Momiji's eyes open in surprise. "You mean I'm not that kind of a judge? But I wanted to do the thing with the giant hammer..." Momiji slumped back in his chair disappointedly.

"Okay. Are the contestants ready?" Manabe turned to Tohru and Kagura, who were stationed on opposite ends of the hallway, each with a mop in hand. They nodded. "Okay! Ichi... Ni... San... Shi... GOOO!"

Both Kagura and Tohru set off down the hallway, mopping the floors on their way. Of course, Kagura, with her sudden brute strength, finished the floors in half the time Tohru did, speeding around. Both, they had concluded, had equal shininess, and since Kagura was faster, she won the round.

"ROUND THREE: SERVING! In this round, Tohru-san will serve our first judge, Sohma Hatori, and Kagura-san will serve our second judge, Sohma Hatsuharu. They will be judged by their hostess skills and serving their judges tea. All right, serve away, girls!" Manabe said.

Tohru, being the klutz she was, spilled tea, and dropped the first cup, breaking it, and had to recieve a second cup. Kagura did the job cleanly and perfectly, and therefore won the round.

"OKAY, IT'S OUR FINAL ROUND! How good they are with kids! IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS!" Manabe shouted, his voice resonating loudly.

"I swear, they can hear us in Paris." Yuki sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Our judges will be Sohma Hiro for Kagura-san and Sohma Kisa for Tohru-san! Now. The final count down. EVERYONE!"

"ICHI! NI! SAN! SHI... GOOOOOOO!" Everyone yelled in unison.

"Did I say Paris? I meant Mars." Yuki grumbled.

Of course, Kisa was very satisfied with Tohru and they had lots of fun. Hiro, however, complained that Kagura bored him to death, and when he told her that, she proceeded in trying to beat him up. Obviously, Tohru won the round.

"AND IT COMES DOWN TO A TIE! OH THE ANTICIPATION! And now... the final tie-breaking surprise... the winner will be... WHOEVER IS CHOSEN... BY KYON HIMSELF!" Manabe said, pointing to the post that Kyo had been tied to.

"H-huh?" Kyo said as soon as they ungagged him. He smiled triumphantly. "Well, in that case... I choose... Tohru!" He said, smiling and looking at Tohru, and then glancing nervously at Kagura, waiting for her to beat the crap out of him.

Kagura stared at him for a second, taking a moment for his words to sink in. "Oh..." Tears started leaking from her eyes. "Kyo-kun... after all these years... I suppose... I understand... but... I... I won't lose!" With that she ran out, sobbing.

"Kagura-san..." Tohru called after her, but she had already ran through the wall and out into the woods.

("The house..." Shigure sobbed "The beautiful house...")

"Wow." Manabe said, resuming his announcer duties. "Well, with that stormy conclusion, I pronounce, TOHRU-SAN AS THE VICTOR!" Manabe laughed, lifting Tohru's hand into the air before placing it in Kyo's. "Please, be happy..." He said, tears forming in his eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH YOU?"

Hatori and Mayuko watched them from afar, sighing.

"You were right about one thing..." Mayuko chuckled. "There's never a dull moment around here. You've sure got an interesting family."

Hatori laughed. "Sometimes I wonder whether they're a gift or a curse."

* * *

Kyo and Tohru retired to the back porch together after the excitement had died down, leaning on the wall and looking into the trees.

"I wonder if Kagura-san is okay..." Tohru said softly, looking guilty.

"You know Kagura, she's strong. She'll be fine." Kyo said, smiling. "If she wasn't beating me up all the time, I might even like her."

"Ano... Kyo-kun..." Tohru said hesitantly. "Why... did you choose me?"

Kyo blushed. "W-well... um... because... well, do you think I'd rather choose Kagura?" He stammered.

Tohru nodded. "I see."

"Well... why did you choose to compete?" Kyo asked.

"Well... because... well, Kagura-san, you know? And my other reason... that's a S-E-C-R-E-T!" She giggled, pressing one finger to her lips.

"Come on, tell me!" Kyo said, nudging her.

"Nope!" Tohru said, crossing her arms. Kyo finally gave up, and Tohru closed his eyes and leaned on his shoulder.

"T-Tohru, what...?"

"Kyo-kun... can I sleep like this like we did that time in the woods? I... liked it... Kyo-kun is always... so warm." She said, smiling.

Kyo blushed, but smiled warmly. "Okay... but just for a little while..." he replied, leaning his head on her's.

"You win, Tohru-kun."

Both of them opened their eyes to see Kagura standing before them, a somber expression on her face.

"K-Kagura-san..."

"Tohru-kun... you can... have Kyo-kun. He doesn't belong to me anymore. I know that you will be much better suited for him than I ever was." Kagura laughed, tears coming from her eyes. "Please... be happy. I... I'm going out for a while. I'll be back." She waved, and walked off, still smiling.

Kyo and Tohru watched her leave, blinking in surprise.

Kagura walked down the street, of the small town, wiping her eyes. _It's true. Tohru really is better for Kyo-kun. Even though she doesn't admit it, she loves him more than I ever could. And Kyo-kun... Kyo-kun never smiles at me the way he smiles at her. I know... he loves her too._ With these thoughts, Kagura walked casually into a convenience store, thinking she would buy herself a drink. When she walked in, she saw a sandy-haired boy sitting at the counter, looking utterly bored.

"Oh, I know you!" Kagura lit up in recognition. "You go to Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, and Tohru-kun's school! You're the one who showed me where their classroom was that time I visited!" She said walking to the counter. "What brings you all the way here?"

"My summer home's around here. This is my summer job." The boy replied, scowling. "What's your name again?"

"Sohma Kagura! Oh... forgive me for not asking before, but what is your name?" Kagura asked.

"Sakuragi Naohito." Naohito replied shortly.

"I see..."

Both of them looked off into the distance, lost in their own thoughts.

After a moment, Kagura spoke. "What're you thinking about?"

"Unrequited love." Naohito replied, sighing. "You?"

"Same... unrequited love." Kagura replied, smiling slightly. She looked at him, who turned to look at her as well. "So, are you busy after your shift here?" She asked.

"No... actually, it ends in about five minutes." He said, looking at his watch.

"Wanna grab a bite to eat after?" Kagura asked casually. "We can exchange sob stories." She added jokingly.

Naohito smiled slightly. "All right."

* * *

YAY! I like this chappy too. Hinted couple! Ahhh I'm so inspired! You'll be hearing from me again soon! REVIEW! 


	18. Warmth and Passion

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** ahhh i got like, 4 volumes of fruits basket from my friends for my bday! (happy) as i was rereading some stuff, i realized i messed up some honorifics and what people call each other, but can you blame me? its so much to remember!

anyway, as you can tell by the chapter title, this chappy is gonna be a bit... er... rated PG13. but not to worry, i am completely and totally against lemons/limes. i'll leave it to the imaginations of all you readers who have perverted minds.

And i was reading over my last chapter... I'm SOO sorry for all the typos! i was in kind of a rush when i wrote it!

Oh yeah and, HeavenGoddess, make sure to read the A/N at the end before you kill me!

Wow, this was a long A/N

* * *

_When the snow melts... it becomes spring. So what happens to the flowers when the spring ends?_

Hatori was awake first that morning, as usual. Well, except for Kyo and Kazuma, but they were off doing morning training somewhere. He looked outside the open window, watching a bird singing on the tree branch that hung near the window. It was sitting on the branch alone and singing. _Spring has ended... a long time ago. I wonder what this bird is doing alone... Don't birds usually fly in flocks?_ He thought as he watched it sing. It's song was almost melancholy. Hatori smiled sadly. _I suppose he's just like me then._ Hatori watched it a while longer, and noticed another bird watching it from a branch not too far. (A/N: okay, i know, birds don't actually do this, but for the sake of the story, let's pretend) After a moment, it hopped down to join, and began singing with it. Both stopped, looked at each other, and then flew away. Hatori watched them go, and smiled lightly. _At least he's found someone for him..._

"Hey."

Hatori turned around to see Mayuko leaning on the entrance into the room. "Oh, good morning, Mayu. Did you just wake?"

"Actually, I was standing here watching you for a while. You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb it. But... it was kind of sad too, so I had to interrupt... Oh, here I go not making any sense again." Mayuko laughed nervously, before joining him by the window.

Hatori smiled a little. "It's all right. I kind of like that about you... I think sometimes I make too much sense for my own good."

"Always the serious and somber doctor, huh, Hatori-kun?" Mayuko joked, leaning on the windowsill. "But I kind of like that about you. Sometimes I think I'm too emotional."

Hatori shook his head. "It's... good to show emotion. Sometimes, it's too much to keep it all pent up. It feels good when you release it... or when someone releases it for you..." he added, looking at her.

"Oh god, don't remind me of that crying incident again! That was embarrassing!" Mayuko blushed.

Hatori smiled a little and turned to the window and placed his hand on the windowsill. Except, it wasn't the windowsill his hand fell on. It came to place over Mayuko's hand. "Uh, sorry..." he said, drawing back, a hint of pink appearing on his cheeks. Mayuko blushed too and withdrew her hand, and then resumed looking out the window. Hatori's eyes flicked to her hand again, remembering their sudden kiss the other day.

_Warmth. The warmth of someone's touch. Of someone's lips. Of someone's love... I miss it... I miss it... so much..._

He didn't know why. He didn't know how. But somehow, for some reason, tears seeped out of him. They were overflowing, unstoppable.

"H-Hatori-kun?" Mayuko turned around, to find him, leaning forward, shoulders shaking, his eyes covered by his hair. "Are you okay?" She asked unsurely. When Hatori looked up at her, her heart skipped a beat. His teeth were clenched, and tears were falling from his painful eyes.

"Mayu..." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, her head leaning on his chest, as his rested on her head, his tears falling into her hair. He held her hands down by their sides, so she couldn't hug him.

"H-Hatori-kun... What... happened?" Mayuko asked him, her heat hammering, face filled with heat.

"I... don't know. I just... it's hard... to hold onto everything... for so long..." Hatori said, voice shaking. He had surprised even himself.

"Hatori-kun..." Mayuko pulled away, placing her hand on his cheek. "It's okay... Kana-chan... she's happy now. You can be happy too, Hatori-kun."

_Her hand on my cheek... Her fingers within mine... Warmth... I can feel it... it was within her all along._ Hatori lifted his hand to her face and leaned forward, placing his lips on her's.

_I love you..._ They were both thinking it, but neither had to say it. Their lips said it all as the two birds sang behind their sillouhettes.

_When the snow melts... it becomes spring. So what happens to the flowers when the spring ends?_

_Summer keeps them warm._

* * *

"I'm going out!" Manabe announced to everyone at breakfast a few days later. "My girlfriends in the next town, so I'm going on a date with her there today! Can I borrow a car and a designated driver?" He added, grinning.

Uotani sighed. "I suppose I'll go with you. Don't worry, I'll leave you guys alone during your date. I supoose I'll just hang around the mall.

"YAY! Thank you Ari-chan!" Manabe said, hugging her.

"Get off me!"

"Gomen Ari-chan, I'm just so excited to see my girlfriend!" He then went on another rant about his girlfriend.

They left a while after breakfast, and the house was strangely quiet. Unfortuantely for some, Ayame was still around to keep things lively.

Yuki left the living room as soon as he could, escaping Ayame's clutches. He sighed and was at the door to his room, about to go in. _Thank god Manabe isn't around._ He was about to go in when he noticed Machi standing next to the door. "M-Machi!" She has the habit of sneaking over without making a sound.

"Hi Yuk--Ah...!" Machi had attempted to step away from the wall, but tripped over Yuki's foot. Yuki managed to lunge at her to make sure she didn't fall, pinning her against the wall. Machi realized the awkward position they were standing in and looked up, blushing. "Yuki..." her voice trailed off as she saw the way he was looking at her.

Yuki didn't understand what was happening. Suddenly, her body, tensed up so close to him, made his breath stop. "You... should watch... where you... step..." He managed to whisper, before totally losing himself and kissing her hard. Machi's eyes widened. This was different from how he had kissed her before. She didn't know how, but soon she found herself getting lost in it as he pushed himself on her, tounge lashing. She returned the kiss with equal passion, tangling her fingers in his hair.

"Machi..." Yuki whispered as they broke off panting "Can I... kiss you like that... again..." In response, she pulled his lips back onto her's. They kissed again in the empty hallway (or so they thought) before Yuki pulled away again. "Machi... can I... touch you...?"

Machi blushed at his sudden question. "W-what?"

"Can I... have all of you?" Yuki was going insane as the words slipped out. Machi was staring at him straight with wide eyes. Yuki mentally slapped himself for letting such words fall. "Gomen, gomen Machi! I... that was much too forward of me... I..." Yuki didn't finish his statement, because Machi had pulled him back into a kiss.

"It's okay..." Machi whispered into the kiss. "I... want to... as well."

Yuki pulled away, looking at her seriously. "But you have to swear... not to hug me through it all."

"Huh... why?"

"There are somethings better not explained."

Machi was confused, but she nodded anyway. "Okay, I swear." She said, pulling him back into the kiss.

Nothing else was said. Yuki opened the door with one hand, and gently lead her in with the other, their lips never leaving each other.

The door shut, and the two onlookers, left their eavesdropping place from inside of their room.

"Romance. My dear brother Yuki has finally realized a man's true dream." Ayame sighed dreamily. "I'm so proud of him!"

"Should they be doing that without protection?" Hatori said, eyebrows raised.

"Haa-san, always the doctor!" Ayame chuckled. "But did you really use any protection your first time with Kana?"

Hatori blushed and didn't say anything.

* * *

Whoa! My first remotely dirty make out scene and suggestiveness! (feels dirty) Anyway, here's a little consolation for HeavenGoddess because I feel bad for torchuring her so much.

Neko-chan: (pushes Hatori forward) Come on, Hatori, say it!

Hatori: Why?

Neko-chan: (unsheathes claws of doom) DO IT.

Hatori: H-hai... um... uh... HeavenGoddess. I'm sorry for making out with Mayu. You will forever be my one and only. This author just happens to be a Hatori/Mayu fan.

Neko-chan: (puts away claws and smiles brightly) There ya go, HeavenGoddess. All hope is not lost for you! DON'T KILL ME!

See you all for the stormy next chapter!


	19. Stormy Fights and Brotherly Love

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Updating again! I can only do it on the weekends now though. By the way, I'm asking people PLEASE visit/comment my deviant art site: emo-ish-ness-nyah. deviantart. com (minus spaces). I promise my drawings don't suck too much! (And soon I'm going to add a really good one from the fanfic. just gotta decide if ti'll be black/white or colored). Anyway, on to the chapter. Drama ensued.

* * *

"Oh no, it's raining!" Tohru exclaimed, standing up from their card game. "I have to go bring the laundry in!" 

"I'll help you." Kyo said, getting up. "WE'LL CONTINUE THIS LATER." he told Uotani before following Tohru out of the room.

When Kyo caught up with Tohru, she was standing in front of Yuki's room, a worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Kyo asked.

Tohru looked at Yuki's door, confusion in her eyes. "There are strange noises coming from Yuki-kun's room. I wonder if he's okay..." Tohru said quietly.

Kyo stopped to listen. Sure enough, he heard some... noises. He heard a female voice coming from within calling out Yuki's name. His eyes snapped open and his face flushed red when he realized exactly what these "noises" were. "Damn pervert..." he muttered under his breath.

"Should I go inside to see what's up?" Tohru asked, about to open the door.

Kyo grabbed her wrist. "NO!" She looked up, surprised, into the face of a madly blushing Kyo. "I don't think... you should disturb him right now... He's a bit... occupied."

Tohru was more confused than ever. "Are you sure he's okay?"

"Oh I think he's MORE than okay." Kyo told her, now hearing Yuki's voice in the midst of the "noise".

"Huh? What do you mean? What's he doing?"

"Believe me, you DON'T want to know." Kyo cleared his throat. "Anyway, I think the laundry needs you more than he does."

"Oh right!" Tohru scampered off down the hall.

Kyo cast one last disgusted/scared/appalled look at the door before following her.

* * *

Shigure was casually walking past Yuki's room when he heard noises coming from inside. He peeked in and saw some (censored, censored) things and his facial expression changed to a conniving one. He slide the door closed and laughed. "Akito-san would like to hear this..."

* * *

Yuki awoke to the sound of rain pattering on the windows. _What... happened...?_ He turned around to come face to face with a sleeping naked Machi. His face turned red as a roasted tomato as the events came flooding back to him. _We must have fallen asleep after..._ He smiled as he saw the peaceful expression on her face. 

He got up and began gathering his clothes and putting them on.

"I'M HOME YUN-YUN! WHAT'S U-" Manabe stopped in his tracks as he looked into the room, and his smile faded. The sight he saw looked something like this: Machi asleep in Yuki's futon NAKED, and Yuki wearing just his pants (thankfully) and picking up his shirt from the various array of scattered clothing. Manabe's expression suddenly turned the most hostile anyone had ever seen it. "YOU F---ING BASTARD."

Yuki looked up, and his heart almost stopped beating. "K-Kekeru..."

At this point, Machi awoke, sitting up (careful to cover herself with sheets) and rubbing her eyes. Then she saw what was going on before her and looked from Manabe to Yuki nervously.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Manabe's eyes almost turned red with anger as he swung a fist and hit Yuki squarely in the jaw, bringing him to his knees. Yuki could have easily dodged such a punch before, but now his reflexes seemed to have failed him and he just sat there, not doing or saying anything.

"KEKERU!" Machi shrieked, but unable to leave the futon in all her naked glory.

Manabe punched Yuki again. "I TRUSTED YOU!" And again. "YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND!" And again. "I EVEN APPROVED OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MY _SISTER_!" And again. "AND AS SOON AS I GIVE THE OPPURTUINITY YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER!" He landed one more punch and stepped back, his knuckles dripping with Yuki's blood, which was flowing steadily from Yuki's nose and mouth. But he still couldn't bring himself to move.

"Kekeru, I wanted to too!" Machi was crying now. "Stop it! I _love_ him!"

"You say that, but how can that really be true? YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HIM!" Manabe yelled, turning on Machi. He looked from Machi to Yuki one more time. "You... both of you... YOU DISGUST ME." With that he turned heel and left the room, leaving a heavy silence plus Yuki's coughing and Machi's sobbing.

"I... I'm sorry..." Yuki said through the blood. "This is all... my fault... You... should go now..."

Machi got up and got dressed before fleeing from the room, crying all the way.

* * *

"Got into a fight, did you?" Hatori said as he looked at Yuki's face, which had thankfully stopped bleeding. 

Yuki didn't reply.

Ayame walked in and saw Yuki and Hatori before laughing. "Wow! I never thought making love was so dangerous these days!"

"That's not what happened... it was- hey wait a second!" Yuki turned deep red. "You two know about that...?"

Both Ayame and Hatori nodded.

"D-Does Shigure know?" Yuki asked nervously. "I don't want him to tell Akito... He'll... hurt her..."

Ayame kneeled by Yuki's side and put a hand on his shoulder with a chuckle. "Do you distrust your brother that much? I won't tell anyone. And neither will you, right Hatori?" Hatori nodded and Ayame turned back to Yuki. "Don't worry about a thing, Yuki, your secret's safe with us!" He winked. He suddenly looked serious. "Non non, Yuki! We cannot have the beautiful face of the brother that so dearly resembles the handsome Sohma Ayame being marred, can we? What happened?"

Yuki looked into the face of his brother, so full of concern and caring for him. Tohru-kun may be the over-competent replacement for a not-so-competent mother, but in front of him was his brother, his _real_ brother. Suddenly the events of the day caught up with Yuki and he covered his mouth wit his hand and squinted his eyes, tears leaking out of them and down his cheeks. "Nii-san..." Yuki grabbed him and hugged him, and Ayame was taken aback by his sudden emotion. "Nii-san... I... hate you!" Yuki said before he began crying into the comfort he had needed for so many years.

"There, there little brother... everything will be okay. You're amazing, reliable, and not to mention handsome brother will make everything okay..." Ayame er... comforted? Yuki.

Yuki laughed inspite of the tears. "Baka Nii-san."

Hatori watched them, smiling. _Well what do you know. Ayame CAN do something right._

_

* * *

_"Manabe... I don't know what's bugging you and frankly... I don't really care! So can you please leave?" Kyo grumbled, anger marks twitching all over his head.

"Yuki and I had a fight!" Manabe whimpered.

"BUT WHY DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN SLEEP IN MY BED?"

* * *

Aww, so cute. I just had to add some Ayame/Yuki brotherly love! But Manabe and Yuki aren't having a good time This chapter was rather short because I'm tired and I have school tomorrow, but atleast it came! See you next week (hopefully). 


	20. Making Up and Making Out

**Disclaimer:** I hate writing this every time, but I don't want to break my famous pattern. No, I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** So... tired... (collapse). I just got back from a ten-day trip to India and I'm exhausted and jetlagged. I slept from when I got home from school until now... which is 11:30 PM. JetLAG.

* * *

The next day at breakfast, others (besides Kyo, Ayame, and Hatori) began to notice something was wrong. Yuki had shown up to breakfast without Machi, looking fairly beaten up, and neither Machi nor Manabe had shown up at all. Tohru glanced worriedly at Yuki's wounds, thinking about the strange noises she had heard from his room. But she had told herself she wouldn't get involved in all that this time. It was none of her business.

Kimi and Momiji, however, seemed to have other plans.

"Yuki looks really sad..." Momiji commented.

"Kimi doesn't like it when Yun-Yun, Machi, and Kakeru are sad..." Kimi said quietly.

"Should we... meddle...?" Momiji gave her a sidelong glance.

Kimi grinned. "Kimi DOES want to see them getting along again. Kimi misses Yun-Yun and Machi's lovey-dovey fluffy moments that make the fangirls squeal!"

"Then operation YU-MA-RU BEGINS!" Momiji yelled, striking a pose on the table.

This attracted a few stares.

"Eh... sorry... I'll get off the table now..."

* * *

"Okay, here's the plan." Momiji whispered to Kimi after breakfast, when everyone but Tohru and Kyo had left the dining hall. Of course, those two were too conscious of each other to notice Kimi and Momiji. "Since we can't get through to them ourselves, we have to find someone who's close to them to help... I'd say for Yuki, I'll ask Haru to talk to him."

"Got it!" Kimi replied with a smirk. "Hm... I think Kimi will ask... Ari-chan!"

"Perfect!" The two high-fived and split up.

First Momiji took care of Haru. "Hey Haru?"

"Hm?"

"Did you notice Yuki's been kind of sad lately?" Momiji aked casually, padding down the hall by Haru's side.

"Yes... I did notice him being a bit down... same with Kuragi-san and Manabe-san..."

"Do you think something happened between them?"

"A mystery..." Haru said wistfully, looking off into the distance.

"That you're going to solve! I don't like seeing Yuki sad, so find out what's wrong!" Momiji insisted, curling his hand into a fist.

"...Okay..." Haru replied non-chalantly, not letting it show on his face that he was as worried as Momiji.

Momiji watched Haru go, and then waved to the empty hallway, in which Kimi emerged. "Is Kimi going to spy?"

"Yep!"

The two scampered down the hallway to stand together at the crack of Yuki's door. Yuki was sitting down at the far end of the room, leaning against the glass sliding doors. After a moment of staring at Yuki, Haru crouched by his side. "You want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Yuki responded quietly, knowing he wasn't decieving Haru one bit.

"It's fine if you don't want to... but... I've been worried about you... so has Momiji... and Tohru's probably having an annuerism by now." This got a chuckle out of Yuki before his face turned serious.

"I did something... terrible..." Yuki hugged his knees to his chest. "I did something horribly filthy..." he repeated, burying his head in his hands.

"What... did you do?" Haru asked, leaning closer now, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I did... IT..."

Kimi and Momiji almost fell over in surprise.

"You mean... _it_ it?" Haru asked raising an eyebrow. Yuki nodded. Haru almost laughed. "That's all?" Yuki looked up, surprised, and saw Haru smirking. "You and Machi just got a little intimate? God, you're hilarious Yuki. Do you have any idea how many time Rin and I have done it?" Kimi and Momiji watched with wide eyes from outside as Haru continued. "It doesn't matter, as long as you did it for the right reasons. Why did you do it?"

"Because... I love her..." Yuki said quietly, blushing slightly.

"Then there's nothing to be ashamed of." Haru concluded.

"But Kakeru... I feel like I betrayed his trust..." Yuki said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Don't worry about him. Kakeru's like an overprotective father. He'll come around eventually." Haru replied with finality.

Yuki looked up at Haru and smiled. "Thank you Haru..."

Haru shrugged. "My pleasure." His face suddenly turned serious. "If you won't have me, the least I could do was make sure you're happy."

Yuki laughed. "You never get tired of that, do you?"

Haru grinned. "Never."

Kimi and Momiji scampered off, still shocked from the knowledge they had gained, and knowing there work there was done. As they were walking down the hallway, they bumped in to Rin.

"Hey, Isuzu-san?" Kimi asked.

"What?" Rin growled.

"How many times have you and Haru done it?"

Rin turned bright red. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU ASK SOMETHING LIKE THAT! IT'S PERSONAL, LAY OFF!" She exploded, before storming off down the hallway.

"Kimi takes it that that means too many times to count." Kimi concluded.

Momiji nodded in agreement. "I walked in on them once."

Kimi giggled. "Anyway, I'm going to ask Ari-chan about Kakeru."

* * *

"You want me to talk to Manabe about what's bothering him?" Uotani aksed with raised eyebrows.

"Well, aren't you worried about him too? Kimi doesn't think Manabe will listen to her, so she wants Ari-chan to ask in Kimi's place."

"Why would I be worried about him?" Uotani denied, crossing her arms. Truthfully, it had been bothering her that Manabe hadn't been as loud and obnoxious as usual.

"Because you're his good friend! Kimi just KNOWS you're worried!" Kimi insisted. "Please?" She finally begged.

"Oh, all right." Uotani sighed before walking off towards the direction of Kyo and Haru's room, where Manabe had escaped to.

Kimi and Momiji found a hiding place in some bushes in the backyard as Uotani came out and sat next to Manabe on the porch.

"So, what's eating you? You're not as annoying as usual." Uotani asked casually.

"Yuki." Manabe replied. Unlike Yuki, he didn't have a hard time coming out with it.

"Did you guys have a fight?" She asked.

"Duh. He took advantage of my sister!" Manabe replied with a scowl. "And she doesn't even realize what she's getting herself into."

Uotani snorted. "I knew somehing fishy was going on when I passed Yuki's room that day. Judging by the noises _I_ heard, I'd have to say that Machi wasn't exactly being raped, if you know what I mean."

Manabe's expression didn't change. "She says she loves him, but she doesn't know anything about him. Neither do I. I just know that he's hiding something... hiding something big."

Uotani sighed. "I think we all get that feeling about him. Him and the others Sohma's too. They're so mysterious... But... you have to learn to trust them. I get a feeling that Tohru knows what they're hiding, and she loves them all just the same. If I know one thing, Tohru's an excellent judge of character. So, if she can trust him, you can too, right?"

Manabe sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right... but still... I can't escape this feeling... that somehing bad will happen to them if they keep this up... I'm really worried..."

Uotani sighed and ran her fingers through her hair briefly, before leaning forward onto her knees and putting her arms around Manabe's neck. Manabe's eyes snapped open in surprise. "Sometimes bad things happen when you fall in love." Uotani said quietly. "When you grasp the rose, you have to deal with the thorns too. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that everything doesn't seem as bad when you love each other, and you're with each other. It's when you're apart that it hurts the most. You know that too, right Manabe?"

"Ari-chan... you're apart from the one you love too, aren't you? And it hurts you a lot, doesn't it? Ari-chan... are you... okay?" Manabe realized his shoulder was becoming damp with her tears. Uotani didn't say anything, but squeezed him tighter. Manabe wrapped his arms around her waist in turn and hugged her tight. "Okay, I'll forgive them... But... only if you keep smiling, even if you are away from the one you love. Because... you have friends here too, who care about you too, and don't like it when you cry. I'm sure Tohru-san would be worried if she knew. Hanajima-san, too."

Uotani held him a moment more before pulling back and roughly wiping her tears.

"Hey, Ari-chan, would that count as cheating on my girlfriend?" Manabe asked seriously.

Uotani laughed. "Of course not, idiot."

Kimi and Momiji gave each other smiles and nodded, before sneaking away to stand on the porch between their rooms.

"Mission accomplished!" Kimi exclaimed, raising her hand in the air for a high five. Momiji grinned and leaned over to slap her hand, but tripped, sending the two falling onto the porch. Momiji caught himself with his hands right before their chests touched. He sighed inwardlly with relief before looking down. Kimi was trapped, lying on the porch below between his arms and legs. Both of them were frozen, blushing, their hearts thudding a mile a minute. Kimi shivered as Momiji's fingers brushed the bare skin of her arm, and for the first time felt exposed in the spaghetti-strapped tank top and short skirt. Momiji looked down at Kimi, stiff underneath him, getting an urge he had never felt before.

"Momiji-cha--" Kimi's words were cut off by Momiji's lips and her eyes closed at the two held the kiss for a long moment. When they broke off, they looked at each other for a moment, before realizing what had been done. Momiji jumped off Kimi, who jerked to a sitting position. The two leaned on the wall, blushing wildly. They looked at each other briefly, and then looked away again, still bright red. Momiji's hand crept over to cover Kimi's and she leaned on his shoulder in response. Both closed their eyes, and small smiles crept up their lips.

* * *

Hanajima walked into Kimi and Machi's room to find Machi curled up on her disarray of a futon, eyes half open. The room was dark, the curtains of the sliding glass door drawn letting only a limited amount of light in through the cracks.

"Your waves called me here." Hanajima said quietly. "Did something happen between you, Yuki, and Manabe?"

Machi nodded.

"He's forgiven you... I can sense it..."

Machi sat up, looking at her questioningly. "You mean... Kakeru?" She asked quietly.

Hanajima nodded.

"And... Yuki? What of him?"

"He... still feels nothing but undying love towards you. That and a strong sense of protection. No harm will come of you when he is around." Hanajima replied, looking at her black nails. "Now the question is, will you be okay?" Her eyes fell on Machi, who looked down. Hanajima stood up, looking around. "It's so dark and lonely in here..."

Machi stood up as well, metally taking a note on how odd that sounded coming out of her.

Hanajima stepped over to the back of the room and threw open the curtains letting the brightness flow freely into the room. Hanajima turned around and smiled. "Sometimes it's okay to let in a little bit of sunlight."

Machi squinted into the light to see Hanajima with the sun haloed around her thin frame, her hair flowing freely around her body. Despite her black gothic clothes, Machi thought she looked like an angel. "Do you like the sunlight, or would you rather stay in the dark?" Hanajima asked.

Machi could feel tears pricking her eyes "I like... the sunlight."

"Then... would you like to come with me?" Hanajima held out her hand.

"Yes..." Machi replied, taking it.

* * *

"I hope Yuki's okay..." Tohru told Kyo worriedly. "He, Kuragi-san, and Manabe-san seem a little depressed. I hope something didn't happen."

Kyo scowled. "I'm sure he's fine. Why do you always have to bother yourself worrying about that prick anyway? He doesn't need your worry, he has Kuragi-san..." Kyo grumbled.

"But... I worry about you, so..."

Kyo blushed. "That... you... idiot!"

Tohru giggled. "Is Kyo-kun jealous?"

Kyo blushed harder. "Of what?"

Tohru grinned before throwing her arms around Kyo.

"What--!" Kyo instantlly turned into a cat, his clothes dropping around him. Tohru sat, knelt on her futon, hugging the blushing Kyo-neko to her chest. "What are you doing!" Kyo asked. His eyes darted to the door, but thankfully, it was closed.

"I don't know." Tohru replied with a laugh, falling back to lie on her futon, holding Kyo above her before putting him down next to her hand hugging him. "I just felt like hugging Kyo. And I really love cats too!" She snuggled him tighter, innocently not knowing how dirty this could all be. Her eyes closed. "Let's just stay like this... for a bit... o... kay...?"

"Fine, but just for a bit." Kyo grumbled, not admitting that he was thoroughly enjoying this. "Hey, Tohru? Tohru?" He looked up to see her face calm, her eyes closed. She was asleep, and Kyo was trapped here in her arms. "Now what?" He sighed. "Oh well..." His eyes closed as well, and he fell asleep, leaning against Tohru.

* * *

Machi was just leaving her room, hand-in-hand with Hanajima, when she bumped into Yuki.

"Machi..." Yuki said quietly.

Machi turned to Hanajima, but she had already disappeared somewhere. She looked up at Yuki to see him running his fingers nervously through his hair.

"About the other day... I'm sorry if I hurt you... or anything... or if I pushed you to it too much."

Machi shook her head and took his hand, squeezing it. "It's okay..." She smiled. "It's okay... because you love me... and I love you... so... it's all right..."

Yuki smiled. Just then Manabe came down the hall. He and Yuki looked at each other for a moment, before they both bowed to each other at the same time. "I'm sorry." They looked up at each other in surprise and straightened.

"I guess... I forgive you guys... but only because... you love each other... so I guess... it's all right then."

Yuki and Machi smiled. "Thank you..."

Manabe's face changed, and he lifted a finger. "But next time, do use protection. We wouldn't want Machi getting pregnant, now would we?"

Both turned bright red. "KAKERU!"

Just then a shriek erupted through the halls. It was coming from Tohru's room. The three quickly rushed down the hall.

Tohru and Kyo jerked awake to look at the source of the scream, which was Kisa, standing wide-eyed at the doorway to her and Tohru's room. At this point, just about everyone in the house was crowded at the doorway to their room behind her, mouths hanging open.

Tohru and Kyo looked at each other to see that they were sitting side-by-side on Tohru's futon... Kyo completely naked. They realized what had happened and turned b bright red, quickly turning painckedly towards the crowd of gaping people.

"IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

* * *

lol, i liked the ending. this was a very friendship-y chapter... and kimi/momiji fluff! a preview for the next chapter: OMG, WHAT? Tohru's pregnant! 


	21. Pregnant!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket

**A/N:** Hey! I'm updating! (is proud) This is going to be one of my FAVORITE chapters to write! and OMG... only... TWO MORE CHAPTERS OF FRUITS BASKET OMGOMG (cries). Well anyway, onto the chapter... (hums Rewrite from FMA)

* * *

Machi left the bathroom and slid the door shut, heart hammering. A week. She was a week late. And it was exactly two weeks since she and Yuki had... you know... done the deed. With wide eyes she walked weakly down the hall. To know for sure she had to take a formal test... But it would be way too suspicious if she suddenly went to the convenience store. Yuki or Manabe might want to come with her, and good god, she didn't want THEM to know. There was only one person she could ask...

"Good morning Kuragi-san!" Just at that moment, Tohru had emerged from her room with a bright smile.

"Honda-sempai..."

"Hm?"

At that moment Machi grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom.

"Kuragi-san, what...?" Tohru asked with a puzzled expression.

"Honda-sempai... I need you to buy me something from the convenience store." Machi said urgently.

"Uh... what is it? And why do you have to ask me in the bathroom?" Tohru was getting even more confused by the minute.

Machi took a deep breath, a blush growing on her face. "I need you to buy me a pregnancy test."

Tohru turned white. Chalk white. Machi thought she had stopped breathing. "P-pregnancy test...?"

"Honda-sempai, are you okay...?" She asked worriedly.

"I-if you need a pregnancy test... then that means you and Yuki-kun..." Tohru collapsed against the wall.

Machi blushed harder. "Y-yeah... we did..."

Tohru shot up, scaring Machi. "That means that day... the noises!" She blushed crimson, turning to Machi. "H-Hai... I'll buy that for you..."

"Arigatou..."

Tohru stumbled out of the bathroom, eyes swirling. _Kuragi-san and Yuki-kun... they... they..._

Kagura came out of the room she shared with Rin, and grabbed Tohru's shoulder. "Hi Tohru-kun!"

"UWAAHH WHAT?" Tohru jumped up ten feet before falling over.

"Um... are you okay?" Kagura asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"NO! I'M FINE! I'M TOTALLY FINE! AHAHAHAHA..." Tohru laughed nervously.

"No offense, Tohru-kun, but you suck at lying." Kagura stated bluntly.

"EHHHHH? I'm not lying! I swear! I swear! I was just going to the convenience store!" Tohru said.

"Oh, in that case, I'll go with you... there's um... someone I want to see there anyway..." Kagura added, blushing slightly.

"NO!" Tohru yelled, making Kagura jump out of her thoughts. "I HAVE TO GO ALONE!"

Kagura raised her eyebrows. "What are you buying?"

Tohru's heart stopped beating and she turned the color of paper. REALLY WHITE PAPER.

"Tohru-kun...?"

"I... I'M BUYING Q-TIPS!" With that Tohru broke into a sprint down the hallway, leaving Kagura blinking.

"Gone like the wind..."

* * *

"Hey, minna-san!" As soon as Tohru left, Kagura burst into the living area where everyone was lounging together. The only person missing was Machi, who was hiding in her room. "Tohru-kun is acting weird! Really suspicious! She won't tell me what she's going to the convenience store to buy... And she's acting like she's hiding something."

Everyone looked up in a puzzled way. Most shrugged it off, knowing that Tohru acts overly-suspicious over nothing, and other's decided they would keep a look out for anything odd.

Meanwhile, Tohru was at the convenience store, heart racing. _W-which one should I get!_ Tohru gulped and picked one up and walked to the counter. She looked up and turned that color again. Yup, the paper/chalk/snow/whatever shade of white. The boy at the counter was someone who went to her school. She placed the item on the counter, trying to pretend she didn't know him.

Naohito picked up the box. _A pregnancy test?_ He looked up at her with raised eyebrows, before giving her the price.

"AHHH, Y-YES! YES! UM... HERE!" She shoved the money into his hands, and grabbed the bag before sprinting out the door.

Naohito blinked. "Don't you want your change...?"

Tohru walked into the house, hands shaking. She dropped the plastic bag, and the box rolled out. "EEP!" Tohru squealed before hastily getting on her knees and putting it back in the bag. She looked around frantically, before hurrying down the hallway.

From inside the kitchen, Momiji's mouth fell open.

"MINNA-SAN!" This time Momiji burst into the living area where everyone but Tohru and Machi were present. Everyone looked up. "T... TOHRU-KUN IS PREGNANT!"

Choruses of "WHAT?" broke out as everyone sat up straight.

"It's true! I just saw her come in... and she had... a pregnancy test!"

Heads turned slowly and menacingly towards Kyo, eyes glowing.

"W-Why does it feel like everyone's been posessed by the devil...?" Kyo asked, sweating.

"That time... two weeks ago... YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HER DIDN'T YOU?" Uotani and Yuki asked, getting up and cracking their knuckles.

"Kyo-kun's a PERVVV!" Manabe sang, not helping the situation.

"WE DIDN'T! I-IT WASN'T ME!" Kyo stood up and ran out of the room before he could be brutally beaten by everyone in it.

* * *

"So... Shishou... uh... what did you want to talk about?" Kyo asked Kazuma, who was sitting across from him at the table.

Kazuma took a sip of his tea and put it down. "Kyo... A woman's body is a very delicate thing..."

"I DID NOT GET TOHRU PREGNANT!"

XXX

Not too long after, Tohru, Kyo, and Machi entered the room... and got jumped by it's occupants.

"TOHRU-KUUUUNNN!"

Tohru looked at them with wide eyes. "Y-yes...?"

"DID YOU DO ANYTHING DIRTY WITH KYO-KUN?"

Tohru put her finger to her chin. "Ano... I'm not really sure..." Tohru said in all innocence, thinking of the time when the two cleaned the house together.

Hatori raised his eyebrows. "You're not sure...?"

At that time from the corner of the room, Rin spoke up. "What if Kyo... raped Tohru...?" She said darkly.

"EHHHH?" Tohru exclaimed.

"Close your eyes and ears Kisa!" Hiro exclaimed.

"YOU RAPED TOHRU?"

"NO!"

At this point, everyone was on the edge of their seats (although too lazy or hot to get up) and Kyo was panting, and Tohru was beet red, with no idea how to react.

"But then what were you doing that time, with Tohru, NAKED?" Uotani asked, pointing an accusing finger.

Tohru and Kyo stiffened. They couldn't say it in front of everyone, that would give away the curse. "Ano..." Tohru stumbled on what to say. "Y-You see... Kyo-kun was... er... coming out of the shower... and um... asking me something on his way to his room... and uh... he tripped! Yeah! And fell on my bed! And his towel fell off! Yeah! That's exactly what happened!" Tohru finished, laughing nervously.

The others (who weren't cursed) stared with raised eyebrows, unconvinced.

"Then... you must have done it willingly... ne, Tohru...?" Rin asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"W-WHAAT?" Now Tohru was on the verge of fainting, and the others turned to Rin in surprise.

"Think about it. Kyo comes in after the shower to answer Tohru's question... what if Tohru's not as innocent as we think... and she was really asking him... TO SLEEP WITH HER!" Rin pointed an accusing finger at Tohru, who fell over from shock.

All of the occupants of the room turned slowly, eyes twitching, to Tohru. _So... dirty..._

"I-I-I... I DIDN'T! I MEAN... T-THAT'S SO... DIRTY!" Tohru cried, falling to her knees.

Yuki sighed. "How could Honda-san be like that? Think about it."

"But then..." Momiji started. "Why would she have a pregnancy test?"

Tohru froze. He had seen it. Here comes that papery color. "T-That... that was..."

"SO IT'S THE TRUTH?" The others yelled, recoiling with wide eyes.

"NO!" The others looked from Tohru to Machi, the source of the voice. "If that's what it was about... then don't blame Honda-sempai. T-That pregnancy test... was for me..."

Yuki and Manabe stood up abruptly. "YOU'RE PREGNANT?"

"I told you to use protection!" Manabe yelled.

"I'll take full responsibility!" Yuki assured.

"IT CAME OUT NEGATIVE!" Machi screeched. "So would you please... be quiet..."

The entire room fell quiet as Yuki turned around. Both Yuki and Machi turned the color of ripe tomatoes. "Er..." Yuki stammered.

Most of the room snickered, though about half of them already knew.

Mayuko sighed. "This is why we discuss safe sex and teen pregnancy in school." She rubbed her temples.

Hatori slipped an arm over the back of the couch behind her. She looked at the man who was sitting next to her, a smirk on his lips. "It's okay if it's safe, right?" he asked. Mayuko blushed bright red, and Hatori laughed. "Just kidding."

Mayuko turned to him. "Yeah, it's okay if it's safe."

Hatori's cheeks tinged noticably red as he turned his gaze forward.

And so ended another weird day in the summer house of Sohma.

* * *

Lol, this is one of my favorite chapters. I hope you like it too. Some innuendo there with Hatori and Mayu. ;D 


	22. Summer Love and Summer Drama

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Yay, I'm updating cuz my school just ended! It's kind of sad too, though. By the way, this chapter is going to be a bit angsty, a bit sweet. The next chapter might be too, but I don't know if I'm going to split this chapter up or not. Probably not.

* * *

"Oi, oi, I'm going to visit Akito!" Shigure announced to his roommates as he fixed his kimono. The other two exchanged glances, and then looked at him with steely eyes. He looked up. "What? I have to look my best for her, ne?" he joked. Neither of the others laughed.

"Shigure... what are you going to tell Akito-san?" Hatori asked seriously. Ayame remained silent, eyes falling to the floor, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Oh... this and that..." Shigure said casually, twirling his finger in the air.

"Shigure..." Hatori said in a more forceful tone.

Shigure dropped the act and smirked. "You know what I'm going to tell her..."

Ayame's fists clenched and he looked up at Shigure with a glare. "You can't... Yuki... he'll..."

Shigure shrugged. "You know that the only person I care about is Akito... and myself. As long as she's happy, I'm happy, and that's all I--"

Shigure was cut off as Ayame took him by the coller and shoved him up against the wall.

Hatori's eyes widened in surprise, as Ayame glared Shigure down. Shigure remained unchanged. "Are you... angry...?" He asked Ayame with raised eyebrows. "I always knew you were a good brother, Aya." He smiled. "I'm proud of you."

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Ayame said through gritted teeth, shoving him harder.

"Oh... I'm sorry... but you want to make Yuki happy, and I want to make Akito happy, and that's where we clash. So... I'm sorry, Aya. I have to--" He was cut off again, and this time it was by Ayame's fist.

Hatori's mouth was slightly agape as he stood speechless at the spectacle.

"How can you be so insensitive you..." Ayame's voice trailed off and he released Shigure. "What am I doing...?" His voice trembled slightly. "So... unlike me..." He raised a hand to his forehead, leaning against the wall.

Shigure fixed the collar of his kimono and cleared his throat as if nothing had happened. "If you'll excuse me... I'll be going now." He exited unaffectedly, leaving Hatori frozen.

He looked at Ayame, who was still leaning there, silently. Finally regaining himself, Hatori ran out after Shigure, but by the time he got there, Shigure was already in the car and starting the engine. Hatori rubbed his forehead, wondering for the millionth time if that man had any conscience at all. He sighed and went back to their room. At the doorway, he paused. Through the crack in the door he saw Ayame leaning against the wall, hugging his knees to his chest, cellphone against his ear.

"Mine? I did something... terrible... I'm feeling a bit... down... say something to cheer me up, will you? It's not good for me to lose my charisma..." Ayame paused and chuckled. He closed his eyes and relaxed, leaning his head against the wall. Hatori left, thinking it was best that he didn't intterupt.

* * *

The doorbell rang, and those in the Sohma Summer house wondered who it could be this time. It seemed someone new was coming to stay with them everyday. Tohru answered the door, and was surprised at who stood there.

"M-Mine-san... what brings you here?"

For once Mine wasn't in some random maid's outfit, but in a regular skirt and top. She looked up at her with a warm smile and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Boss needed me..." She said simply.

"I-I see... I think..." Tohru smiled unsurely.

Just at that moment, Ayame appeared in the hallway. He blinked in surprise. "Mine...?"

"You mean you didn't know she was coming?" Tohru questioned.

Ayame shook his head. "No... I..." His voice trailed off, as he just stared at Mine's presence.

Tohru looked from Mine to Ayame, who both just stared at each other, and something dawned on her. She smiled. "I'll be leaving you then..." She said knowingly before backing into the kitchen after one last glance. Neither noticed her leave.

Mine's grin widened. "Surprise!" She broke eye contact to rummage through her bag. "Here, I brought this new fabric I found that I thought you would like, and this really good thread I bought the other day... I even brought the sewing kit and..." Her voice trailed off as she looked up to see Ayame still looking at her with the softest smile.

"You came... because you knew... didn't you...?" Ayame said quietly, softly trailing his fingers on her cheek.

Everything in Mine's hand dropped back into the bag as her breath caught in her throat. "K-Knew what, boss...?"

"That I needed you..."

"B-Boss..."

"You don't have to call me boss... We're not at work..." he said, standing dangerously close to her.

"A-Ayame..." Her words were cut off as Ayame leaned forward and placed a slow, sweet kiss on her lips.

He broke off and rested his head on her shoulder. "Thank you, Mine..."

With her free hand, Mine gently stroked Ayame's hair. "No problem, Bo-- uh... Ayame..."

* * *

Tohru hummed as she stirred the curry.

"What are you so happy about?" Kyo asked her.

"Summer love! Lot's of summer love!" Tohru exclaimed loudly, raising the spoon into the air.

Kyo stared. "What the hell?"

"Let's count the couples!" Tohru went on. "Ayame-san and Mine-san, Hatori-san and Mayuko-sensei, Isuzu-san and Hatsuharu-san, Momiji-san and Toudou-san, Hiro-san and Kisa-chan, Yuki-kun and Kuragi-san... KYAAA THERE ARE SO MANY!" She giggled, bouncing.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS?" Kyo sputtered.

"Woman's intuition!" Tohru grinned.

"I didn't know you had any..." Kyo muttered.

"Ano, Kyo-kun? Do you... that is... is there anyone you like?" Tohru asked suddenly, turning to him.

Kyo blushed, but then looked down at her expectant face and and smiled. He leaned over, placing a finger on her lips. "That's for me to know and you to figure out someday..." Tohru turned red. "What about you, Tohru?" Kyo asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"That... That's my S-E-C-R-E-T!" Tohru giggled, in turn putting a finger on Kyo's lips.

The two realized how they were standing, with their fingers on each other's lips, and pulled away blushing, laughing nervously.

"Maybe someday we'll find out huh?" Kyo said.

"Yeah... maybe someday..." Tohru grinned.

Both returned to the cooking, faces beet red.

* * *

Yay, cuteness! X3 Anyway, summer vacation is on, bitches! Hope you guys are enjoying it as much as me! 


	23. Protecting The One I Love

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long to update... (drowning in fanfics). But anyway, here it is, chapter 23. I think Rin might be a bit OOC. I tried, though. And yes, there will be more violence.

* * *

"Akito... aren't you worried?" Shigure asked Akito, wrapping his arms around her frail shoulders. "Your rat is running off with some other woman."

"Of course I'm worried, Shigure!" She growled. "But I'm tired. I'll deal with it later. Right now I'm not in the mood to deal with it."

Shigure pulled her down onto the futon and rolled himself ontop of her. "Not too tired for me, I hope."

She sighed and let him kiss her neck gently. "No... I'm just too tired to resist." She said finally, letting him take her.

* * *

"Kisa-chan... can we... go for a walk?" Hiro asked nervously the next morning.

"Sure, Hiro-chan! Can Oneechan come?" Kisa asked.

"No, I... want to take a walk... just the two of us..." Hiro's blush grew.

"S-sure..." Kisa agreed, her cheeks tinging slightly pink too.

"Oi, Hiro, Ohayo." Rin called, ruffling his hair.

"Rin-neechan, can I, talk to you for a moment?" Hiro asked.

"Nn? What?"

Hiro turned to Kisa. "So, how about after dinner?" Kisa nodded, and Hiro left her with a rejected look on her face.

"What did you want, Hiro?"

"Ano... I haven't gotten the chance to ask since you came here but... y-you're okay now, right?" He asked.

"Hm?"

"I mean... after everything... you... and Haru-nii too... you're okay, right?"

Rin smirked. "Yeah, we're fine." She patted his head. "You worry too much. You should be worrying about what you're going to tell Kisa. I think she thinks you like me. You'd better set her straight."

"Eh?" Hiro looked back, before looking abruptly back to Rin. "H-Hey, how did you know...?"

"It's written all over your face." Rin left Hiro bright red.

"Is it that obvious?"

* * *

"Hiro-chan, did you want to... talk about something?" Kisa asked as they walked side-by-side down the path winding through the woods.

"Yeah... about Rin-neechan."

Kisa stopped walking. "It's okay, I already know. I..."

"You do?" Hiro turned around to see Kisa's big eyes filled with tears.

"I... I'm s-sorry!" She turned around and fled into the woods.

"Oi! Kisa-chan! Wait!" Hiro called. "Don't run into the woods by yourself!" He groaned and ran after her. A shrill scream broke out through the woods. "Kisa-chan!" Hiro ran faster, until he reached her, frozen on the spot. "W-What's wrong?" He panted.

"A sp-spider!" She pointed. "Put it on a tree or something, Hiro-chan!" She squeaked.

Hiro sweat dropped. The way she screamed, he thought it was a pack of wild dogs or something. It was a pretty large spider though. He sighed and scooped it up, putting it on a tree a few paces away from them.

Kisa was still crying then. "I-I'm sorry, Hiro-chan... I don't know why... I can't stop crying!"

"Kisa-chan... I... don't like Rin-neechan!" Hiro said finally, putting his hands on both her shoulders.

She sniffed. "Y-you don't?"

"No, I don't! That's what I was trying to tell you!" Hiro yelled, frustrated. "The one I like is...!" Hiro leaned forward and kissed her so quickly she didn't even have time to close her eyes. He broke off, blushing madly, and leaving her equally red.

She laughed and began crying again, flinging her arms around him. "I... I'm so glad!" She let him go and leaned up to kiss him again, but stopped just before and yelped, pulling away and falling on the ground.

"W-What?"

"There's another one on your shoulder!" She squealed.

Hiro plucked the spider off and put it on a tree with a laugh. He held out his hand to Kisa. "Don't worry, hime, I'll protect you." He grinned.

"H-Hime...?" She took his hand and he pulled her up. She smiled. "You're just like a prince, Hiro!"

Hiro smirked. "Even more so than Yuki-nii?"

"Ten times more!"

* * *

As the two returned home they walked into the house to hear it filled with shouting and the sounds of things breaking. They excanged looks before running to the source of the noise-- the living room. They walked in to see Akito standing in the middle of the room filled with people. Yuki was standing in a protective stance in front of Machi who was crouched against the wall crying, bruises evident on her skin. Hatori was trying to hold back Akito, who was holding Ayame by his collar. Shigure was nowhere to be seen. Hiro quickly pushed Kisa behind himself.

"HOW DARE YOU GET IN THE WAY?" Akito was yelling at a determined Ayame. "I WAS GIVING THEM THE PUNISHMENT THEY DESERVE FOR DOING SUCH FILTHY THINGS BEHIND MY BACK!"

"You will not hurt Yuki, or Machi!"

"Nii-san..."

Akito thrust her knee into Ayame's stomach. "SHUT UP! I'LL DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!" She punched him in the face once, and blood dripped from his mouth.

"Nii-san!"

"Y-Yuki..."

"SHUT UP!" She yelled finally, throwing Ayame into a coffee table and unconscious against the wall.

"NII-SAN!"

"Ayame!" Hatori yelled, tugging uselessly at Akito's shoulders.

The others in the room-- Tohru, Kyo, Mayuko, Mine, Hanajima, Uotani, and Manabe-- were left speechless. Rin and Haru had gone for a walk, and the rest of the house was gathering at the door to see what the commotion was about.

"YUKI! HOW DARE YOU! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW NOT TO GO AROUND WITH FILTHY WOMAN!" Akito punched Yuki and thrust him aside. "AND YOU... BITCH!" She grabbed Machi by her hair and forced her face to look up at her. "HOW DARE YOU LAY A HAND ON MY YUKI! NOBODY WILL HAVE HIM, OR ANYONE ELSE IN MY FAMILY AS LONG AS I'M IN CHARGE!" She released Machi and pulled back her fist to go in for another punch, but her knuckles came in contact with Yuki's arm instead. Yuki flinched noticably at the painful contact, but didn't falter. "YUKI! STOP THIS! DO YOU REALLY CARE SO MUCH ABOUT THIS GIRL THAT YOU WOULD DIE FOR HER?"

"Yes." Yuki replied firmly.

"THEN SO BE IT!" Akito picked up the coffee table she had thrown Ayame into and raised it up.

"YUKI!" Machi shrieked and dived between Yuki and Akito and closed her eyes, bracing herself.

But nothing happened.

She opened her eyes to see Akito unconsious on the floor, and Manabe standing over her with a potted plant in his hand. "Well, I think she deserved it." Manabe told the gaping spectators. "Nobody hurts my sister, or Yun-Yun." he said firmly, putting down the plant and crossing his arms. Machi collapsed to her knees crying.

Uotani whistled. "You've got some guts. Either that or you're a total bonehead. I'd go for the latter."

Shigure walked in at that moment. "My, my, what happened here?" He asked, observing the scene.

"Looks like you picked a good time to show up, bastard." Kyo growled.

Shigure ignored this and began laughing when he saw Akito. "Looks like someone gave him what was coming." He picked up Akito. "I'll take care of her. Someone help Ayame, and Yuki and Machi look pretty bad too."

"This is all your fault." Hatori muttered to Shigure as he passed so nobody else could hear.

"I know." Shigure replied with a smirk before leaving.

* * *

A while later, everyone was recovering. Ayame regained consiousness as Mine was treating his cuts (she had insisted when Hatori offered).

"Mine..."

"Oh, good, you're awake." She smiled brightly. "Hatori said you should be alright. It was just a minor concussion, but you should rest for the next few days.

"Mine?" He reached up to touch her face.

"Y-Yes..." Mine's voice quivered.

"How's Yuki? And Machi?"

"They're fine."

"Thank god." Ayame relaxed slightly and smiled. "Arigatou, Mine..."

At this point, it seemed Mine had taken all she could take, because she collapsed onto Ayame's chest sobbing. "You idiot... You... scared me..."

Ayame laughed and patted her back. "Gomen, Mine... Don't cry!"

* * *

Yuki knocked on the door to Machi and Kimi's room. Kimi opened the door, and for once she wasn't smiling or cheerful.

"She... hasn't stopped crying. She says it's all her fault. Could you please... help her?" Kimi asked sadly.

Hanajima appeared behind Kimi's shoulder. "Yuki... she needs you. Come, Kimi, let's leave them."

"H-hai..." Kimi followed Hanajima out of the room as Yuki walked in silently, his face somber. Machi was curled up on the futon with her back to him, staring out into the brightness of outside.

"M-Machi..."

"Gomen nasai, Yuki... I couldn't do anything... This is my fault. You wouldn't be hurt if I wasn't so pathetic." Machi sniffled.

Yuki sat next to her and stroked her hair. "Don't be silly. You threw yourself in front of a madman with a coffee table for me. But thank god Manabe's such an idiot." Yuki laughed.

Machi gave a choked laugh.

"Listen, Machi. This really is... my fault. I was so caught up in my feelings for you... I forgot about Akito. He... doesn't like people in his family getting involved in romantic relationships. It makes him feel... abandoned. He's pretty insecure, I guess. I shouldn't have gotten this close to you... I knew... Something like this was bound to happen. It's okay... if you don't want to be with me anymore after this incident." Yuki said quietly taking her hand in his.

Machi turned over abruptly to face him. "Don't be stupid, Yuki. No madman with a coffee table is going to get between us, got it?" Yuki laughed, and Machi continued with a smile. "I still want to be with you, no matter what. What's love without heartache?"

"Maybe a little less complicated." Yuki cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. "I'll protect you, Machi."

"And I you. Even if it means throwing myself in front of a few coffee tables." She smiled.

"I'm going to go check on Nii-san." Yuki got up and began walking towards the door.

"Ano... Yuki?"

"Hm?"

"Did you really mean it when you said you'd die for me?" Machi asked tentatively.

Yuki smiled. "Of course. You mean more than anything to me." He was about to turn back when Machi called out again.

"Yuki?"

"Yeah?"

"I would die for you too. Coffee tables and all."

* * *

Aww aint that sweet. oh damn i'm like, beating everyone up in this fic! lol. i was laughing so hard when i reread the "akito picking up a coffee table" sentence, that i had to make a joke about it. I dont know why it found it so funny. 


	24. Kissing Chaos

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket

**A/N:** Ohh big Kyo/Tohru chapter, and I put in some Rin/Haru on request. I'm trying really hard to involve all the couples in this fic. But there are so many! I barely have time for Kyoru with all the stuff I have to put in! And there's a lot of Yuki/Machi stuff, because this fic is a lot about the hurdles of their relationship and how it progresses. But enough about my ranting. I keep saying this fic is nearing its end, but the chapters just keep coming!

* * *

"Boo."

Strong arms wrapped around Rin's waist as she watched the clouds float by through the window. She didn't need to ask who it was. She just smiled and leaned back against his strong chest. "What do you want, Haru?"

"Mmm, nothing. It seems like the whole incident that went on with Akito while we were out the other day is starting to blow over, even though some people are still a bit shaken. I would have beaten him up if I were there." Haru said into Rin's neck.

"Then it's a good thing we weren't. Good thing that Manabe kid's such an idiot."

"Ano, Rin? Wanna go for a walk?" Haru asked, lacing his fingers into her's.

"Sure, why not. Where to?" Rin shrugged, looking up at him.

"Just the convenience store. Kyo's sulking because we're out of milk." Haru explained.

"Okay then." Rin turned around and started for the door when Haru grabbed her wrist and spun her around, letting his lips meet her's.

As the kiss deepened, Rin murmured. "Mm, can the milk wait?"

Before Haru could answer, in a blur of yellow and pink, Momiji and Kimi appeared on either side of them. "PDA POLICE! There shall be no inappropriate PDA in this house, before the eyes of the children!" They said in unison, pointing towards Kisa and Hiro. ("Who are you calling a child?")

Rin snickered. "As if they haven't had any experience themselves."

Kimi and Momiji blinked questioningly at Kisa and Hiro, who flamed red and looked down, causing the two to grin.

"Y-Yeah, well, I caught you two making out on the porch yesterday!" Hiro pointed an accusing finger towards Kimi and Momiji, who flushed red and looked down as well.

Rin burst into laughter. "YOU TWO? MAKING OUT? THAT IS TOO GOOD!" She burst out, clutching her stomach, and wiping tears.

Haru placed a hand on her head as she recovered, smiling. "Come on. The convenience store?"

Rin nodded and followed him out. "As long as there's no PDA Police there..." She muttered.

As they strode into the path, Haru swung an arm around Rin's shoulder, pulling her close. "I'm proud of you. You've loosened up so much. You're laughing and having fun again. I'm glad."

Rin smiled and looked up. "Couldn't have done it without you."

* * *

"Nao-kun! Ohayo!" Kagura leaned over the counter.

"Ohayo, Kagura-chan..." Naohito nodded. "Usual?"

"Yup!" Kagura waved a lowfat yogurt.

Naohito took her money and tossed her a spoon, and leaned on the counter himself. "So, what have the idiots been doing lately?" He asked. It had been discovered ages ago that the rest of the student council was staying with the Sohmas, and Kagura had come around every morning to talk and fill him in on the insanity he was gladly missing. Kagura explained the Akito situation.

"Seriously? Manabe knocked him out with a potted plant? That idiot!" Naohito sputtered.

Kagura laughed. "That's what we were all thinking! But it worked, and Kuragi-san wasn't mauled with a coffee table."

Naohito sighed. "Damn, you've got one screwed up head of the family. Would you ever even DARE to have a relationship?"

Kagura fidgeted. "Well... if I liked them enough, I guess." She smiled and looked up at Naohito. "Is there anyone you like, Nao-kun?"

Naohito blushed and looked down. "W-well, I'm over Minagawa-sempai..."

"Good!" There was a pause. "Hey, look up, will you, Nao-kun?"

Naohito raised his head, and his lips were met instantly with Kagura's. They leaned over the counter in lip-lock for a long minute, until the bell above the door to the store rang. They jumped apart and looked back to see Rin and Haru staring at them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, Kagura?" Rin asked, eyebrows raised. Kagura blushed deep red, as did Naohito, and Haru and Rin both grinned mischievously. "So THAT'S where you've been disappearing to all the time. I see you're into younger men."

"Be quiet Rin! Don't tell anyone! Or I'll tell them that I caught you doing it TWICE over the summer!" Kagura squealed, squirming with embarrassment.

"Whatever." Rin scoffed. "None of my business anyway. Hey, boyfriend, ring up this milk, will you?"

A very red Naohito scanned the milk and muttered it's price.

"Make sure to use protection, and try not to get the counter too dirty..." Haru said unaffectedly as he paid.

This time Naohito was sure his whole body was on fire as he yelled. "THAT WAS OUR FIRST KISS, YOU PERV!"

"Nn? What's this?" Haru said, ignoring him. He plucked a poster off the wall.

"Oh that?" Naohito looked at it as well. "Well, this town has a summer festival fair thing coming up this weekend. If you guys want to go, it's supposed to be a lot of fun." He said, handing Haru the change.

"Hm. Well, you can count on seeing us there. You should ask her to go with you." Haru winked, jerking his head towards Kagura, who was yelling at a teasing Rin. He took a flyer and turned back. "Come on Rin, let's head back."

Rin and Haru left, and Naohito looked from the flyer to Kagura, who was tossing out the yogurt, looking extremely flustered. "Ano, Kagura-chan?"

* * *

Haru and Rin came back from the convenience store and announced the news about the festival and got the whole house buzzing with exitement. Kagura practically skipped in next, announcing she had a date. When she told them who, there was an outburst of laughter from Manabe.

"HOW THE HELL DID SHORTY MANAGE TO GET A DATE WITH A HOT OLDER WOMAN?" He choked between fits of laughter. "WAY TO GO SHORTY!"

"You're going out with Naohito?" Yuki asked disbelievingly.

"Good job Nao-chan!" Kimi cheered.

Machi just watched silently.

Meanwhile, Kyo was staring at the flyer Haru had brought for a long time. He was silent, and you couldn't really tell what was going through his head. He left the flyer on the coffee table (lol) and walked into the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe. He watched Tohru for a bit as she hummed and bounced around the kitchen, clumsily dropping a spoon and then scolding herself as she picked it up and washed it. She had just dried it and turned around when she realized Kyo standing there. "Oh, Kyo-kun!"

"Hey Tohru..." Kyo said, looking down with a slight blush. "I..."

Apparantly, she hadn't heard him because she bounced up and squealed. "Kyo-kun! Did you hear about Kagura and Naohito-san? SUMMER LOVE, KYO-KUN! So... KAWAII!" She squealed, spinning in circles.

Kyo chuckled. "Yeah... cute..."

"Oh, did you need something Kyo-kun?" She stopped and turned to look at him.

"Ah... N-no... just dropping by..." He cleared his throat. "Ja..." He quickly turned and left, before banging his head repeatedly against the wall. _Moron... just ask her..._

_I'm trying... but for some reason... I just can't get over these insecurities that are welling up inside of me... Choking my words..._

He groaned. "Goddammit!" He stormed off down the hallway, before walking straight into Kazuma.

"Kyo, aren't you looking flustered." He chuckled and waved a flyer up. "You don't happen to be planning on asking Tohru to this are you?" He raised his eyebrows.

Kyo blushed. "Shishou! Shut up! I'm not asking anyone to anything, dammit!" He crossed his arms stubbornly.

Shishou smiled. "Well, good luck then. I'm sure she'll say yes." He waved and continued down the hallway.

_Damn him..._ Kyo twitched, before heading out to the backyard, which had a tall old tree that gave him straight access to the roof.

Kazuma headed down the hall in the opposite direction when he bumped into Hanajima. "I seem to be bumping into everyone today. Oh, hello, Hanajima-san."

"Hi Kazuma-san." Hanajima smiled.

Kazuma was continuing down the hallway when a hand grabbed the sleeve of his kimono. "W-Wait... Kazuma-san..."

Kazuma turned around in surprise. "Yes?"

"Will you..." Hanajima was nervous for once, and not quite sure what to say. "Will you go to the fair with me... even if you don't like me, even if... you only see me as a child... just for one night... will you... humor me, please...?" Her heart was beating a mile a minute and Kazuma was just staring at her with wide eyes.

Kazuma smiled. "Of course. I'd be happy to. Besides, I'm looking forward to seeing you in a yukata."

Hanajima blinked before grinning. "It will be a black one."

Kazuma laughed.

* * *

"Shishou-san, do you know where Kyo-kun went?" Tohru asked Kazuma as he passed the kitchen. She had finished cooking lunch, and now she was seeking out Kyo to see if he wanted to go swimming with everyone else.

"I believe he's on the roof." Kazuma told her.

"EH? HOW?" She asked, searching frantically through her head for any place that could lead up there. Her eyes went wide. "DID HE CLIMB THE GUTTERS?"

Kazuma laughed at the mental picture he got of Kyo shimmying up the gutter and shook his head. "No, no, he climbed that old tree outside Kuragi-san and Toudou-san's room."

"O-oh..." Tohru said, blushing with embarrassment.

"Yeah. Go find him. I think he wants to ask you something." He winked and swept past her and continued down the hall.

Tohru looked back at him in confusion, but then shrugged and made her way outside to the tree. She gave it a determined look before taking a deep breath and climbing up. After almost falling a couple of times, she made it to the roof and hoisted herself up with some effort. She kneeled at the edge of the roof and saw Kyo a little ways down, eyes closed, leaning back on his hands.

_He's sleeping..._ She smiled gently and watched as the wind ruffled his hair and swept his peaceful features. She padded noiselessly up to him and knelt by his side, trying to decide whether to wake him or not. The longer she watched him, the faster her heart paced, and the hotter her face got. He looked so... attractive lying there like that. She leaned over and brushed his hair as gently as the wind and slowly placed her lips on his.

At that point, Kyo, who had been awake the whole time, realized that it wasn't a cat or bird that had tapped on the roof, or the wind that had brushed his hair. The sensation of soft lips on his brought his thoughts to an abrupt halt and his eyes snapped open.

Tohru savored the kiss but when she opened her eyes, she had Kyo's garnet eyes staring straight back at her. She jerked away so quickly she lost her balance.

"Tohru!" Kyo's fast reflexes kicked in and he quickly leaned forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her back towards him. With a thud, he landed on his back and Tohru landed on her hands and knees, straddling Kyo. Both were frozen in this awkward situation, hardly able to breathe, their hearts hammering for all their worth.

"Kyo-kun... I can explain... I just... uh..." She stopped. The truth was, she couldn't explain. There was no way around this situation. She just took a deep breath and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the rejection.

"Tohru..." she didn't open her eyes, but felt instead, Kyo rolling her over so they switched positions. She opened her eyes to see him looking down at her seriously. She opened her mouth to talk but Kyo beat her to it. "Shh. Close your eyes." Tohru obeyed and felt his lips press against her's and she kissed him back, tangling her fingers in his hair. She felt her head spin as the kiss deepened and their tongues tangled inside their mouths. She moaned as his fingers slipped up the inside of her leg as the other hand stroked her face.

Kazuma looked up from the backyard to the roof to see how things were going and almost started laughing as he saw them on top of each other, making out for all it's worth. _Good going, Kyo._

That was when Kyo slipped and fell on top of Tohru, and a poof erupted through the roof. Tohru blinked, now lying with a cat on top of her stomach, his clothes on her legs. Not that his shirt hadn't come off long ago anyway, and Tohru's was halfway unbuttoned. When your animal instinct took over, boy did it take over. Both of them blushed and Tohru scrambled to fix her clothes, both avoiding eye contact, Kyo muttering something like "damn curse".

"Ano... Tohru?" The orange cat asked.

"Y-Yes Kyo-kun?"

"Do you want to go to the festival with me?"

"I'd love to!"

* * *

O.O Damn that was dirty! I still can't believe it myself. Well, you wanted more Kyoru! (sweatdrop) 


	25. Festival: Part 1: Couples

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A/N:** Woot. Okay, festival time is here! And the festival will be the last event of their summer. So, you know what that means... THIS FIC IS ENDING! O.O By the way, sorry I took so long to update. I've been kinda busy with other stuff… (cough)Ouran Host Club(cough)

xXx

"ARISA." A dark aura enveloped the house and people stayed out of the hallways as much as possible.

"Hana-chan, why are you calling forth the spirits of darkness this time?" Uotani sighed, sitting fearlessly on the futon next to the source of all evil.

"MY YUKATA." Hanajima was hunched over her yukata, long hair flying in the midst of the dark flame that surrounded her. "MY SPECIALLY MADE BLACK YUKATA. THE ONE WITH VIOLET FLOWERS. HOW... DID IT GET RIPPED?" she said darkly, clenching her hands.

"You must have been careless." Uotani shrugged. "In any case, you can't wear it, so I guess you'll have to borrow one from Ayame... that guy brought a whole stash of clothes along, and for some reason, they're all women's wear. I don't WANT to know."

Hanajima looked up, her eyes glowing purple. "But his yukatas... THEY'RE..." she twitched as she imagined Ayame and Mine waving around pink and yellow yukatas, forcing them onto her.

Uotani shrugged. "You'll just have to take what you get. Now stop with the waves, you're scaring Tohru."

Hanajima relaxed, and the air cleared. "It's okay to come out." She said, still sounding miserable.

Tohru peeked her head out of the closet, before scampering to hide behind Uotani. "Are you okay now, Hana-chan?" she squeaked.

Hanajima turned around with a sunny smile. "Yes, just fine. I'm going to find Ayame-san and borrow a yukata, okay?"

As soon as the door closed behind her, Hanajima's face immediately fell and she trudged down the hallway to Ayame's room, several potted plants dying in her wake. She slid the door to the room that now only occupied Ayame and Mine (after Shigure and Hatori moved). "I need a kimono." She said quietly, not reacting to the fact that Ayame had Mine pinned to a futon, with their lips locked. The (thankfully clothed) couple jumped apart and stared.

"A KIMONO." Hanajima repeated.

"Y-Yes Hanajima-san..." Ayame said, blinking, sweat dripping steadily from his forehead. Even Mine was quiet, making no attempts to dress up the girl.

Ayame threw his (strangely large) closet open and laughed, regaining his charisma. "PICK AND CHOOSE, WHICH EVER ONE SUITS YOU! Although I recommend this pale pink kimono with the sakura pattern." he waved towards the kimono section.

"BLACK. DO YOU HAVE BLACK. OR PURPLE."

"Err... no, I don't believe we do..." Mine supplied, finger to her chin.

A nearby plant was burnt to ashes.

"B-But we do have this lovely dark blue one with iris pattern!" Ayame said quickly, gulping slightly.

Hanajima took it and bowed. "Thank you very much." Then she turned on heel and left, leaving Ayame and Mine stunned and blinking.

xXx

The night of the festival came around and it seemed that everyone had a date. Seriously. Looking around the room, you'd be amazed at how many couples had emerged from this summer. A unanimous decision was made that Yuki and Machi were the most perfect couple, much to their embarrassment. The runner up was Kyo and Tohru, who couldn't stop blushing, Kyo yelling and denying. The hottest couple was Mayuko and Hatori, which made them want to disappear to Malaysia. The runner up was obviously Rin and Haru, but they didn't seem to care. They were too busy making out. The most adorable couple was Hiro and Kisa (duh), which made them both drown in blush, and Kimi and Momiji were second place for that. This was all announced to the house by Manabe, of course, who was yelling it into the karaoke microphone.

They had somehow gotten Machi into a yukata, a simple, cream and red one. The color of her face seemed to match her sash as Manabe made the announcement. Yuki blushed as well, but then rested a hand on Machi's head. "That doesn't sound too bad, though, does it? I think you're perfect for me." He smiled and looked down at her. Machi turned visibly redder, but then mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "I think you're just perfect", earning her a kiss on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Kyo and Tohru were having their own dilemma. "Should we tell the others about... y-you know..." Tohru stammered, speaking of the fact that they were together.

"I-I dunno, whatever you want... I suppose you'd want to tell your Yankee friend... Although I wouldn't venture to tell Hanajima yet, she's looking kind of pissed in the blue yukata. Especially after this morning." Kyo shuddered involuntarily.

"W-Well, what about Yuki-kun?"

"NO."

"Shishou-san?"

"DEFINATELY NOT."

On cue, Kazuma appeared behind Kyo and ruffled his hair. "Congratulations. Too bad for the curse, though."

"Y-YOU SAW...?" Kyo and Tohru both turned the color of a Christmas ornament.

"The whole thing." Kazuma said with an unwavering smile. Apparently, he was ecstatic of the situation. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He left the stuttering, blushing couple to join Hanajima, who looked like she was in the mood to fry someone. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think you look really nice. It really suits you."

Hanajima blushed ever so slightly, and looked down. "D-Don't be silly."

"I'm not being silly." He lifted her chin up. "You can smile now."

Kyo was having an aneurysm at this point, and was about to go separate them. Tohru grabbed his arm, but he was obviously stronger than her, so she did the only thing she could to stop him. "Kyo-kun!" She grabbed his shirt collar, spun him around, and planted her lips on a wide-eyed Kyo.

The entire room was enveloped in a wave of silence. They broke off and both turned bright red when they found the entire room staring at them in utter silence. Which was broken suddenly by Manabe's catcalls. Finally regaining themselves, everyone practically burst into laughter.

Yuki put a hand on Kyo's shoulder. "Looks like the baka neko did something right, if you know what I mean." he teased, winking.

"Shut the hell up..." Kyo grumbled.

"Oi, Tohru, why the hell didn't you tell us?" Uotani grasped Tohru's head and pulled her back towards her and Hanajima, who had appeared by her side.

"G-Gomen, Uo-chan, Hana-chan, I was just about to! But I had to stop Kyo from ruining the summer love!" Tohru said, lifting a determined finger.

"..."

xXx

"CHIBI-SUKE!"

"Oh crap..."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR SUMMER ROMANCE WITH A COLLEGE STUDENT? WHY DIDN'T YOU VISIT? DIVINE PUNISHMENT!" Manabe called, before landing a Kakeru-karate-chop on Naohito's head. They had just arrived, and were slowly separating and spilling into the carnival.

"I HAD MY REASONS!" Naohito yelled back, rubbing his head. _Namely, you..._

"DON'T TOUCH NAO-KUN." Kagura appeared suddenly behind Naohito's shoulder, eyes glowing.

_B-black Kagura..._ Manabe gulped. "ARI-CHAN! Kagura-san is scary!" Manabe simpered, hiding behind Uotani, who just gave him a stony stare.

"Get some balls, Kakeru."

"UWAHH, YOU'RE SO MEAN ARI-CHAN!"

"Hell yeah I am."

"But you called me by my first name, and I feel all happy inside!" Manabe grinned.

Uotani sweat dropped. "Damn it."

Manabe apparently spotted something beyond Naohito and Kagura, and his face brightened and he skipped away calling out what sounded something like "MY MEAT ANGEL!", leaving the others sighing with relief.

Kagura and Naohito strayed away together in silence, Kagura grinning happily and locking her hands into his.

"Hey, are you okay with going out with me?" Naohito asked suddenly, feeling skeptical.

"Nn? Why wouldn't I be?" Kagura asked, confused.

"Well, for starters, I'm what, three years younger than you? And I'm not exactly very masculine, or tall, or anything for that matter. I'm sure there are plenty of other guys who are way better suited for you." Naohito let all his insecurities pour out, ending his thoughts with a frown.

Kagura giggled and kissed his cheek. "Silly! You're letting Manabe get to you. I chose you, Chibi-suke, don't ever forget that!"

Naohito blushed and looked away, feeling more than just a little embarrassed. "Call me that again, and I'll break up with YOU.

"Aww, can't I at least call you Chibi-kun?"

"NO."

xXx

"Ah, a shooting range. And look the prize is a Mogeta doll!" Yuki said as he noticed Machi stop a few paces behind him, staring intently at the doll.

Yuki grinned and put a hand on Machi's head. "Do you want me to win it for you?"

Machi looked up at Yuki, as if asking to do so, but instead shook her head.

"Are you..." Before Yuki could said "sure", Machi had slapped some money down onto the table, and loaded the gun. She rolled up her yukata sleeves, a fire burning in her eyes.

"Uh..." Yuki sweat dropped, realizing that with Machi, all his efforts at being romantic weren't going to go well. He was betting money on the fact that Kyo and Tohru with have a thoroughly unintentionally romantic evening.

Three gunshots later, Machi was happily clutching the small Mogeta plushy to her chest.

She turned around to make sure Yuki was following her, to see him leaning against the booth, laughing.

Machi blushed. "What's so funny, Yuki?"

Yuki shook his head. "Nothing, nothing." He stood straight and tapped the tip of her nose. "You are just too cute."

Machi blushed even redder and kept walking.

xXx

"Darts, Momiji-chan, darts! Let's play, let's play, I want that big Utada Hikaru poster!" Kimi pointed, tugging Momiji along.

"Okay!" Momiji watched as Kimi paid for three darts. She missed every time.

"Uwah, I'm no good. Can you win it for me, Momiji-chan?" Kimi asked, giving him puppy eyes.

"Sure I can!"

Twelve darts later:

"Okay, so maybe I can't."

"That's okay Momiji-chan, you did your best! I'll just have to go without the poster..." Kimi sighed, giving a last longing look at it.

"Gomen, Kimi-chan!" Momiji placed his hand on her shoulders and rested his head on hers sympathetically.

Kimi had taken that moment to realize how Momiji, although childish in nature, was quite a bit taller than her. If anything, he'd grown even more over the summer. She felt her face heat up at the sudden attraction she felt towards him. She spun around suddenly and pulled him into a deep kiss, pressing her body against his. She leaned back against the booth as the kiss progressed, tangling her fingers into his hair, his hands resting on the booth on either side of her, considering he couldn't wrap them around her.

They broke off after the fact that they were in a public place crossed their minds, both significantly flushed. "Wow..." Momiji breathed.

Kimi giggled. "I just gave you your first adult kiss, didn't I?"

Momiji flushed deeper. "Y-yeah, I guess you did."

"Momiji-chan, you're such a prude!"

xXx

"Hanajima-san... is it really necessary to go into the haunted house?" Kazuma asked as he hesitantly waited in line with her.

"Of course. Why, are you afraid?" She cast him a grin.

"Not of the haunted house..." Kazuma laughed slightly.

Hanajima looked at him seriously. "Are you... afraid of me? Is that why you came?" She asked in a low voice.

Kazuma looked surprised for a moment before he smiled and put an arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I was just teasing you. I'm not afraid, and that's not the reason why I came."

"Then why? Was it pity?" she looked down.

He shook his head. "I'm not quite sure why, but it wasn't pity..."

"Will you tell me sometime?" Hanajima said in response, knowing fully that Kazuma knew the reason, but for some reason didn't want to say.

"Maybe..."

Both of them shared a brief silence.

"Anyway… We're up." Kazuma smiled. "Let's have fun, okay?"

Hanajima smiled too, in away she usually only smiled at Tohru or Uotani. "Yeah, okay."

xXx

"Akito… What are you doing here?" Shigure smirked, well aware of who was hiding in the trees on the outskirts of the festival.

"I'm keeping an eye on my cousins…"

Akito revealed herself hesitantly, and Shigure's eyes widened. "Why…?"

Akito adjusted her women's yukata, blushing. "It's my disguise, okay?"

Shigure scoffed. "Just admit you wanted to wear it."

"I DIDN'T!" Akito said quickly. "I just…" Her face suddenly turned cold. "I hate women. And I hate being a woman."

"That time of the month?" Shigure mocked.

"NO! I JUST…" Akito couldn't finish her sentence.

"Just admit it. You secretly want to be a woman. You don't hate women. You just hate Ren."

"DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT SLUT AROUND ME!" Akito closed her ears and shook her head.

"Akito… I don't understand what's wrong… You look good in the yukata. And you really shouldn't be accusing anyone of being a slut…" Shigure said, his voice unreadable.

Akito was losing it now. She gave an enraged scream and ripped a sleeve of her yukata off. "I NEVER SHOULD HAVE WORN THIS!"

Shigure grabbed a hysterical Akito by the shoulders. "Come on, let's go home." He smirked. "And I can take that yukata off of you…"

Akito pulled away from him. "NO!" She ran across the festival, disappearing into the crowd.

Shigure rubbed his forehead. "Why doesn't she just get over it already... She knows what she wants, she just doesn't want to admit it." He smiled darkly. "But I just love that about her. And I love rubbing it in her face even more. Now I should probably stop talking to myself." Shigure gave one last laugh and walked on.

xXx

Kyo-kun… let's go on the Ferris wheel!" Tohru squealed excitedly.

"Jeez, they have Ferris wheels here nowadays? I didn't know the festivals got so high-tech…" Kyo shook his head as Tohru tugged him along, grinning from ear to ear.

Kyo sighed. "Oi! Slow down!"

The two of them eventually got on the Ferris wheel, Tohru, staring out the window. "Look, there's Kimi-chan and Momiji-kun… UWAH, I think they're kissing!" Tohru was having a field day.

Kyo rolled his eyes. "Are you just here to spy on couples?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kyo-kun, I bet this is no fun for you at all!" She sat back down, and leaned against his shoulder and smiled. "Look, Kyo-kun, the moon is so beautiful!" She said, pointing.

(Yuki suddenly finds money on the ground. He looks up at the Ferris wheel. "A sign…?")

"Yeah…" Kyo replied.

"You know, the last time I was on a Ferris wheel, was with my mom." Tohru giggled. "She was even more excited then me, pressing her hands against the glass and everything."

Kyo almost laughed, because he could totally picture Kyoko doing just that.

"You know, I really wish my mom could see this now. Us, I mean. At first, I thought I would be betraying mom if I loved you… but I realize… that mom would be really happy. She would have liked you, too. And I bet you'd be to embarrassed to admit your name was so similar to hers!" She laughed. "I'm… happy we can be together Kyo-kun…"

"Tohru…" Kyo was looking at the moon, his eyes unreadable, throat tightening dangerously.

"Yeah? Is there something wrong."

"No… I'm just… sorry…"

"Why, Kyo-kun, what's wrong?

"Nothing, nothing…" Kyo pulled Tohru to him in a soft kiss. "I love you… when I really shouldn't… but…" He leaned in for another kiss, never finishing his sentence.

xXx

"Hey, Yuki? Where'd you get the money? Did you win a bet or something?" Machi asked curiously as Yuki appeared holding money in hands.

"… I wonder… if I did…"

xXx

End chapter. There will be one more festival chapter. And then the last chapter. UWAHH SAD! TT.TT Ok. Fic advertisement time! Remember the AU fanfic I talked about a while ago? Well, I started writing something sort of similar. Same concept, just changed some details. I loved writing it, and it's pretty well written with my heart and soul. You don't have to read it, but I'd love some more readers/reviewers. So yeah, Thanks!


	26. Festival: Part 2: Promises

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket

**A/N:** Second to last chapter, people. And it's quite deliciously long too! Eight pages!

xXx

"I still can't believe that Kyo… It makes me so damn angry! I mean, she just grabbed him, and KISSED him! I don't know what he did to woo her into his trap, but he's going to break her heart, I just know it! And even though Tohru's pretty strong, if it's Kyo, GOD WHAT IF SHE BECOMES SUICIDAL?" This was Rin's rant, as she paced down the festival, positively fuming, alongside Haru.

Haru, at this point, not being able to contain himself began laughing lightly.

"WHAT?" Rin turned on him, her yukata sleeves whipping with her movement. "What the hell's so funny, Haru?"

"Nothing, nothing, it's just… you're so worried, like a protective older sister or something." Haru said between chuckles.

Rin blushed and crossed her arms. "Well, you're like that with Yuki… sort of…" She huffed, looking in the other direction.

Haru put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "Admit it. Tohru has become a dear friend to you. No matter how much you deny it."

Rin shrugged. "Who knows…?" She replied, her face growing hotter by the second.

Haru smiled and stopped walking, pulling Rin to a stop with him. "She's like that with a lot of people. And I'm glad… because she's probably responsible for giving you the strength to return to me… and that is the greatest gift Tohru could ever give me."

This only caused Rin's blush to deepen significantly. She slung her arms around his shoulders and scowled. "You know. You really have to shut up sometimes. You don't talk that much, but when you open your mouth, I just want to close it with mine." And before Haru had the chance to reply, Rin had done just that.

xXx

"Hiro-chan, what flavor would you like?" Kisa asked Hiro as she ordered ice cream.

"A-ah… chocolate…" Hiro replied, rather dazed. He couldn't get over how cute she looked in her yukata, and practically glowing in the festival lights. His face heated up every time she spoke. Those damn hormones are hitting his poor teenage self.

"Here you go!" Kisa said as she held up the cone, making Hiro practically jump.

"Y-Yes, um, here!" He handed her the money that he had insisted on paying.

After she paid for it, she turned to Hiro with a worried expression. "You've been awfully quiet all night, Hiro-chan… are you okay?"

_It's because you're so damn adorable…_ Hiro thought, curling a fist. "N-no… nothing's wrong… I just… I'm told its part of growing up." He told her finally.

"Eh?"

"N-never mind?"

"Hiro-chan what—?"

"Damn it, if you keep asking, you're going to get it!" Hiro practically yelled, his face heating up.

"What? What will I get? I don't understand Hiro-chan, what's wrong? You can tell me, I won't think you're weird, no matter what!" Kisa insisted, getting slightly upset now.

Hiro finally gave up and pulled her into a kiss. A long one. Damn those hormones. As he broke off he whispered "Is it weird… that I can't control my feelings for you?"

"N-no… I… well…" Kisa blushed. "I-it's okay… just a little sudden… b-but, I don't mind!"

"Ah, look Mii-chan, some cousins of mine…" A voice came from near them.

"Oh, you're right, Rii-kun… What a cute couple!" A female voice this time.

The two turned to see Ritsu and Mitsuru, Shigure's editor, watching them from nearby.

"Look's like they've spotted us, Rii-kun…" Mitsuru said with a giggle.

Of course, you all know what's next.

"**_I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY. I RUINED YOUR ROMANITIC MOMENT WITH MY INTERRUPTION… AND I WAS SPYING! I APOLOGIZE TO YOU, AND KISA-CHAN FOR BEING SUCH A LOWLY SPY! I APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD FOR BEING SUCH A VILE HUMAN BEING AS TO RUIN THE BLOSSOMING ROMANCES OF YOUTH! I'M SO SORRYYYY!_**"

Mitsuru looked alarmed for a moment, but she reacted quickly by leaning over to the sobbing Ritsu and placing a kiss on his cheek. Ritsu immediately calmed and stood up from his position of kneeling on the ground, asking for divine punishment (too bad Manabe wasn't there to supply it).

Hiro and Kisa were still slightly taken aback, but Hiro quickly recovered and smirked. "I guess Shigure's 'Poke of Justice' or whatever isn't the only thing that calms Ritsu down," he said with raised eyebrows, and Kisa giggled as well.

"EH? You mean there's another way? I thought my way was the only thing that would calm him!" Mitsuru flushed.

Ritsu put an arm around her and smiled. "Actually, I think I prefer your way. Gure-nii's hurts!" he added with a pout.

Kisa's giggles awakened the couple to their company and they both blushed and coughed.

"I believe we've found ourselves in a rather embarrassing position, huh, Rii-kun?" Mitsuru said breathlessly.

"Yes, I believe so…" Ritsu replied with a slight laugh.

"Wow, I guess that's another couple to the list of romances that have come forth this summer." Kisa giggled. "Oh, and I'm so happy for oneechan!"

"Feh." Hiro responded nonchalantly.

"EH? What do you mean by that?" Ritsu asked, tilting his head.

"Well, a lot of people have been staying with us at the summer home this year, including oneechan's friends, Yuki-nii's friends, and a good deal of others who aren't in the family." Kisa explained. "And due to that, a lot of summer love has popped up unexpectedly."

"Wow, Kisa-chan, you're so mature!" Ritsu mused. "Besides you and Hiro-chan, who else has come up?"

Kisa and Hiro continued to supply the long list of couples that had emerged, and by the time they were finished, Ritsu and Mitsuru were practically gaping.

Ritsu recovered and lowered his voice. "But…won't Akito-san be angry about this…? He doesn't know about Mii-chan and me either…"

Hiro's hands curled to fists and his eyes hardened. "Well, he gave us a visit a while ago. Beat the bloody shit out of Ayame, and nearly threw a coffee table at Yuki and his girlfriend. But Yuki's idiot friend knocked Akito out just in the nick of time. It's been quite a summer…" He finished with a sigh. "But tomorrow's going to be our last night here. The summer's ending…"

"Ah, then, do you mind if Mitsuru and I stayed there for tonight and tomorrow. It sure sounds like a lot of fun." Ritsu suggested.

"Um, sure… I don't think it's our place to say, but I'm sure we have an extra room or so. So… yeah it should be okay." Hiro shrugged, and then watched in horror as Ritsu stiffened. He sighed. "Three, two, one…"

"**_I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY FOR INTRUDING! HOW VERY RUDE OF ME, INVITING MYSELF OVER LIKE THIS! I APOLOGIZE TO YOU, AND THE REST OF THE PEOPLE LIVING THERE FOR BURDENING YOU WITH MY SORRY EXISTANCE. I'M SO—_**"

_Chu._

"—So… rry…"

Mitsuru straightened, blushing. "Ahem. Anyway. I guess we'll see you then. Come on Rii-kun." She tugged on Ritsu's sleeve.

"H-hai, Ja ne, Kisa-chan, Hiro-chan." Ritsu waved.

"Ano, Ritsu-nii!" Kisa called. "I just noticed, you're wearing men's' yukata!"

"Oh, yeah…" Ritsu nodded. "I've been kind of trying to break the cross dressing habit…" He said with a slight blush.

"Yeah… I asked him to… I figured that if we were to go out together, he should avoid wearing women's clothes…" Mitsuru shrugged.

Kisa smiled. "Well, you're looking very nice in it."

"Thank you… and… Kisa-chan…" Ritsu added. "I'm happy to see you lively again. You've been doing well for someone who was too shy to even talk to me just a few months ago… I wonder… if it's because of Tohru-san…?"

"Probably." Kisa agreed, blushing.

xXx

"YUUUKIIII!"

Yuki stiffened and pushed Machi. "Walk faster…"

Machi looked up. "Eh?"

Too late.

"Yuki, how delightful it is to see you and Machi-chan on such a lovely date this evening!" Ayame exclaimed in his usual flamboyant way, Mine following close behind.

Yuki admitted defeat and turned around to see them wearing the most extravagant yukatas that could be made, Ayame's hair tied back samurai style, and Mine's in a delicate bun. He regretted it immediately.

"Ah, such a lovely romance, blossoming through rough times, is kindling a flame of angst and passion, with a love that transcends time." Ayame said dreamily, Mine standing tearfully in the background.

Yuki and Machi both blushed, and not only because of the various stares they were attracting. Yuki's hands formed a fist. "What about you two? Aren't you on a date?"

Ayame stopped in the middle of his rant, eyes wide and cheeks tinted pink, and Mine turned noticeably red. But to Yuki's horror, instead of backing down with embarrassment, he placed a hand on Mine's shoulder and exclaimed loudly. "Why deny it? A couple must not hide it when they're in love, should they, Mine?" Ayame took Mine's chin delicately in his fingers and pulled her face close to his.

Mine, although able to keep up with Ayame, wasn't quite up to par with his charisma, and blushed, looking down. "Ayame, really, we're in public." She was completely oblivious to the fact that she was actually adding to the scene.

"We shouldn't hide it from the world any longer, I'm too in love to go on this way. Mine, I shall claim to the world that you belong to me!" Before Mine could protest, Ayame sealed his love with a kiss to her lips.

This caused the small crowd that had formed to watch the show to cheer.

Yuki and Machi took this opportunity to slip away, sweat dropping.

xXx

"Hatori-kun?" Mayuko asked nervously. "Are you sure Akito-san doesn't know about us…?"

Hatori nodded and placed a hand on her head. "Don't worry about it."

"But—" Mayuko looked down. "I'm scared… I don't want him to hurt you again…"

Hatori smiled. "Don't worry about it. If there really were inevitable danger, then I wouldn't be with you right now… I'd be too afraid of Akito hurting you to go out in public with you. But right now, I'm feeling safe… so for the time being, we can be normal couple…"

"I don't like how you said 'for the time being'…" Mayuko frowned, causing Hatori's smile to fade.

Hatori's hand slipped down to squeeze her shoulder. "Mayu… I just don't want you to get hurt because of me…"

"God, we're just a paranoid couple aren't we?" Mayuko said jokingly, but immediately turned serious again. "Hatori-kun… do you and all of your cousins have to hide around in relationships like this?"

Hatori nodded morosely. "When they don't… Akito… gets mad… and generally someone gets hurt. Losing an eye, being pushed out of a window, being beaten until you're afraid to speak… it's almost normal. Which is what makes this so frightening. Akito is really a child, not wanting to be abandoned… except with a lot more brute strength. But I don't blame him for it, either. He… hasn't exactly had much of a childhood either…"

"T-that's terrible! I mean, for us adults, it's horrible for us to even think about this, but these are just children! I mean, that young couple, Hiro and Kisa, I think their names are, they're what, thirteen? What kinds of lives have these children lead?"

"Mayu… you have no idea what you're getting yourself into by being with me, and getting involved with this family. There are a lot of sinister things that happen within the walls of the Sohma honke… most of these children have lead harder lives than most ever even have nightmares about. Yuki was abandoned by his mother and mentally tortured for most of his childhood. Momiji and Rin were both disowned by their families at a young age, and everyone including his parents ridiculed Haru all his life. Kisa was pushed to the point where she was too frightened to even speak, and became mute for a long period of time, as Hiro suffered the guilt of believing this was because he loved her. And Kyo… Kyo… he was blamed for his mother's suicide, and shunned by the rest of the family, and never been accepted into their lives." Hatori poured out all the secrets and dirty truths about his family that tortured him for so long. "We can't even go to the authorities about this, it's just something we have to live with."

Mayuko was in tears now, covering her mouth with shock as tears poured out and the faces of these suffering children flashed through her mind. "That's… so sad… these kids… Hatori-kun…!"

Hatori gently kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I burdened you with these things, I just needed to tell someone. I've been forced to watch their fates unfold all my life and it's unbearable. But recently… especially this summer… I see their faces, and see the joy that they're experiencing. It could almost make up for all the terrible things they've had to face. They laugh so freely, and all the insanity and fun they've had this summer seems like heaven for these kids. Even with Akito's surprise visit, I feel like it's made their bonds even stronger. They're able to love and live a happy life. It makes me so happy. And I think… it's all due to Tohru-kun…"

"Honda?" Mayuko asked through sniffs.

"Yes. She came into our lives quite unexpectedly one summer three years ago. All the things she said, the kindness she gave to us, even though she knew about everything going on in our family, she accepted us and showed us love we never knew before. Slowly, she brought us all into the light. I have to admit, if it weren't for her, then I would have never had the courage or heart to accept my feelings for you or yours for me. To all of us… she's become so dear…"

"It's remarkable, isn't it, what one girl can do… I have noticed that… she has this positive aura surrounding her that affects everyone." Mayuko agreed.

The two shared a silence before Hatori reached out and wiped her tears before placing a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm sorry. I've burdened you and depressed you tonight. Come on, let's try to have some fun tonight, okay?"

Mayuko nodded before giving him a smile. "I have been wanting to give the shooting range a try. The thought of guns gives me a strange thrill."

Hatori laughed. "What, am I dating a woman or a man? Or maybe a serial killer?"

xXx

Uotani had somehow found herself alone. Everyone else seemed to be paired off, and she was straying about in the memories of a guy she'd only met twice. "I really need a boyfriend." She sighed, feeling more depressed than ever.

Part of her wished she had never met Kureno, and then she wouldn't have fallen so far for him. Then he wouldn't be plaguing her mind constantly like a buzzing fly. But the rest of her, the one that generally drowned out her sensible, practical self, screamed that she could never regret meeting him. Because regretting that you met someone… regretting that you fell in love with him… is the worst. And she knew she wasn't capable of that. She hit herself in the head. "God, I've got it bad."

She stopped at a vendor selling birds. She saw a certain red sparrow looking lonesome in its cage. She reached out and let it peck tentatively at her finger. It cocked it's head and looked at her with pleading eyes, as if saying, "I'm lonely too, so why don't you please take me with you?" Her hand squeezed to a fist.

She didn't know why, but looking into that bird's eyes made her want to cry so much. He said that he didn't want to see her. He made it absolutely clear. But… even so… _I want to see him… and be with him… so much…_

A warm hand curled around her fist and she felt the heat of another behind her. She opened her eyes. The hand was much too big to be Tohru's or Hanajima's or even Manabe's.

"Arisa…"

Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of the voice that called her name from behind her.

"I've been thinking a lot…" It continued. "And… I've decided… that I have to stop pretending that these emotions aren't real, and stop telling myself you were only a good dream never meant to last. Because you're here… and you're real, and you're waiting for me the way I'm waiting for you. I want to be with you. Even with the hurt and consequences. I can't stay away like this. I love you."

That did it. Those three stupid words can do so much to a person. She turned around and flung her arms around him, crying for all it's worth. "Kureno, Kureno… I love you too… just… please… don't go away again…"

"It's a promise then." He leaned down and kissed her.

Uotani laughed. "You'd better not break it, bastard, or I'll beat the shit out of you."

Kureno laughed too. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Uotani stopped. "Hey Kureno… can you get this bird? It just seemed so alone… and I can't have any pets in my apartment, not even a sparrow, for god's sake, so would it be too much for you to take care of it for me?"

Kureno looked at the bird and almost laughed at the irony of the fact that it was a red sparrow. "Sure… and one day, when I'm free, the three of us can live somewhere together… somewhere far off and beautiful." Kureno mused with a smile, wrapping his arms around her.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

xXx

Hanajima and Kazuma had just finished a playing a game, and were enjoying themselves quite well, considering the air of discomfort that still lay upon them after their previous conversation. Finally, not being able to contain herself, Hanajima grabbed the sleeve of Kazuma's yukata.

"Kazuma-san… please… Tell me… why?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes. She wanted to know. She wanted to know more than anything.

Kazuma sighed and trailed a calloused finger down her cheek. "The truth? I don't know why. But… for some reason, I feel strangely attracted to you. It's almost pedophilic with the age difference and all, but you're just so much different from other women I know. I don't understand it myself, why I'm drawn to you this way. But… you know we can't be together now. It would be much too strange, and I'm sure there would be many who disagree. But…"

Hanajima's breath was caught in her throat. She didn't know how to respond to this man she had admired for so long felt the same way about her, despite their entirely different worlds. "But?"

"But, as people grow older, age differences get smaller… so… if you would only wait for me, I'd wait for you… when you're older… out of school and out of college, even if it takes a few years, I'll be willing to wait. And on that day, when you come, I'll be there to say 'Welcome home.'" A long silence passed, and Kazuma blushed slightly. "It seems I've said some embarrassing things… I—"

"Please… Please… wait for me!" Hanajima confirmed with a determined look. "I swear I'll return to you, older and more mature, ready to be with you. So please…"

Kazuma smiled. "Then I shall. Take as long as you need, I'm not a man to go against his word. So you don't go against yours."

Hanajima smiled. "Then, can we seal this promise?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

Hanajima smirked. "A kiss, of course. To keep me satisfied for the time being."

Kazuma smiled in a teasing way. "You're pretty demanding you know."

"I guess you'll have to deal with that, considering you just practically proposed to me."

"That wasn't a proposal, it was a promise."

"Now, isn't that the same thing?"

They stared at each other with similar smirks for a long time before Kazuma finally gave in and leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips.

They parted reluctantly, and Kazuma laughed, both blushing slightly. "I'll be waiting."

xXx

As they got off the Ferris wheel, and Kyo bought Tohru some cotton candy, something apparently caught her eye. "Kyo-kun? You must be hungry! You can leave me and buy some popcorn, okay? I'll be waiting on the grass over there." She pointed.

"Are you sure?" Kyo asked.

"Yeah, go on ahead!" She grinned, a little too enthusiastically.

"Uh, okay. I'll be back in a bit, okay?" Kyo waved, and left Tohru, who immediately approached the thing she had seen.

xXx

Akito tore through the happiness of the carnival, feeling like a complete idiot. She hated herself so much at that point. She was a filthy woman and couldn't do anything about it. And slowly, all of her precious juunishi was leaving her too. She was falling deeper and deeper into this pit of despair and loneliness. And the festival didn't help either. It was too suffocating, full of memories she didn't want to remember. She was forced to recall the times when she was happy, going to the festival (held exclusively for the Sohma family only, of course) with her father. She felt so alone… everyone was leaving her.

She finally collapsed onto the grass on the opposite outskirts of the festival, near the Ferris wheel. She curled her knees up to her chest and hid her face in her hands. She didn't want anyone to see her in such a state. They would never listen to her if they saw her in such a miserable state. _Father… father… please… save me…_ She felt tears slip from her eyes and she tightened the grip on knees trying hard not to begin sobbing uncontrollably right there. She could hear it so clearly, her father's voice.

"_Are you okay Akito? Did something happen? Here, do you want some cotton candy, I'll listen if you want to talk…"_

That's what he had said after her mother had slapped her at the festival. And she had gone running right into his arms. God his voice was so clear even now. Almost as if… Wait… it was real!

"_Akito? Akito?"_

She slowly, hesitantly began to look up. "F-father…?"

"Akito-san?" Tohru was crouched down next to her, clutching a bag of cotton candy, and looking genuinely concerned.

This just pissed Akito off. She jumped back and scowled. "What the hell do you want? Do you think I'm going to fall for your stupid kind words like the rest of them? I can see that you're just trying to steal away everything that's precious to me! What sick satisfaction are you getting right now, watching me fall apart like this? Do you enjoy ruining someone's life?" She yelled, even as tears slipped past her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "Everyone's leaving me because of you! You're the reason why I'm so alone! It's all you fault!" She sobbed now, and curled up again, covering her ears with her hands. "I don't want… to be abandoned! Father…!"

"Akito-san… I'm… sorry…" Tohru crawled closer yet, discarding the cotton candy. "You're right. I was selfish in not seeing how alone you were, I'm the worst… but… Akito-san, just because there is someone else in their lives, doesn't mean they've forgotten you! It's something I've learned this summer. There is room in everyone's hearts for more then one person, if only you'd let them in…" She stroked Akito's head gently, tentatively. "I'm sure… there is someone for you as well out there…"

Akito looked up, tears still streaming from her eyes, before throwing her arms around Tohru and sobbing into her chest. "I don't understand… why? Why do you have to be like this? Someone… who everyone loves more than me! Why are you so kind, and cheerful, and everything that I'm not?"

Tohru smiled and rubbed her back. "You give me too much credit, Akito-san… I'm sure you too are a kind person. I can feel it… your innocence… just like a child's. And in this yukata, you look very beautiful."

Akito straightened and looked at Tohru strangely for a long moment, until she apparently spotted something over her shoulder, and quickly stood up and dashed away. Tohru was confused, and turned around to see what Akito had seen. It was Kyo, heading towards her, looking up at the Ferris wheel distractedly. He looked forward and spotted Tohru, and quickened his pace to catch up to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

Tohru smiled. "I think we'll all be okay now."

Kyo looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

As Akito ran through the festival a second time, the tears wouldn't stop falling from her eyes, no matter how much she wiped them. _Because just for a moment… looking at her then… hearing her voice, feeling her touch… It was just like… Father…_

xXx

Ohhh what will happen now? Find out in the next chapter!


	27. Summer's End

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket!

**A/N:** OMG LAST CHAPTER! Sorry it took so long, school started and I haven't had time like AT ALL. But finally, HERE IT IS! I'm going to cry!

* * *

That night it seemed that nobody slept in the appropriate rooms assigned. Actually, there was an unsaid knowledge that not many people slept at all, if you know what I mean. Somehow, all the couples had "disappeared" one by one into some room or another. Even Uotani disappeared, and the rumor was that she and Kureno hooked up in the woods. This rumor was obviously started by Manabe, although most people were beginning to suspect that he wasn't totally off. In any case, it seemed like everyone wanted this summer to go out with a "bang", excuse the pun. 

The only people not getting it on were Tohru, Kyo, Kisa, Hiro, Kazuma, and Hanajima, who gathered in Tohru and Kisa's room, having their own rooms being taken, to play cards long into the night.

Hanajima and Tohru awoke to find themselves sleeping together on one futon. When they sat up, they saw Hiro asleep sitting up and leaning against the wall, and Kisa with her head on his lap, a blanket draped across them. Tohru smiled and then turned to the side, and both she and Hanajima squirmed (Tohru more visibly than Hanajima) with how cute the scene in front of them was. Kyo was curled up next to Kazuma, thumb in his mouth, with Kazuma having an arm draped across Kyo, pulling him close. Both were sleeping soundly, and Hanajima and Tohru snuck into the kitchen, deciding not to disturb the adorable father/son moment.

That morning had a late start, most people having slept in, being tired from the previous night's activities. Other than that though, people were feeling satisfied with their summer, although resenting the fact that it was all coming to an end.

It was a dark and rainy morning, and it seemed like the sun hadn't even risen yet when everyone gathered in the dining hall for breakfast. Despite the dismal weather conditions, most seemed to be in a fairly good mood. The hall was full of chatter and laughter, as people reminisced on the events of the summer.

Shigure called it the "virgin's summer" because so many people got hitched. He got a well-deserved smack in the head for that one, supplied by many of the house's occupants.

Momiji stared thoughtfully out the window at the thunderstorm for a long time as a grin spread slowly across his face. He excused himself from breakfast early, announcing to everyone that he had a surprise for them in the living room after breakfast. Most shrugged, and agreed to meet him there. He then proceeded to go rummage in the attic for something.

After breakfast, the group trooped into the thankfully spacious living room to find it dark, all the lights off. Before anyone could make a move towards the light switch, a flashlight flipped on from somewhere in the darkness, revealing the eerily shadowed face of Momiji in the center of the room. "WELCOME TO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE."

Kisa screeched. Tohru fainted. Hanajima grinned.

Momiji continued without notice, the grin spreading on his face. "THE STORIES YOU WILL HEAR TODAY ARE ENTIRELY TRUE, AND COULD HAPPEN IN ANY MOMENT."

Kyo snorted. "I doubt that."

This was repaid with Momiji shoving his face into Kyo's and insisting "IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE!"

Momiji flickered the light a moment before sitting down on the rug and grinning. "Once there was a group of friends on vacation at a summer home, just like this one." He began, grinning from ear to ear, as some people rolled their eyes, others listened with interest, and others shook with fear (namely, Kisa and a revived Tohru). "They were all gathered together, watching movies on a stormy day, JUST LIKE THIS ONE, when they heard a sound—a knocking sound, to be precise. At first they ignored it as nothing, until they realized that one of them was missing. They figured that person must be locked outside, so one of them went to open the door. The rest remaining in the living room heard a shriek, followed by silence, disturbed only by the knocking sound, which seemed to grow more rapid." Momiji paused for dramatic effect, and Tohru turned that papery color we all know too well. "So now, the remaining people were getting a bit anxious, and one by one, they sent a brave soul to venture out into the hallway. Each time had the same reaction, and each time, the knocking grew even faster and frequent. Finally, there was only one person left, a girl just about our age, shaking with fear, alone in the living room. She took a deep breath, braced herself, and went to seek her friends. The knocking sound was coming from outside the front door, and she opened it, taking a step out into the rain. At first, she saw nothing, but then she realized that the knocking sound was coming from her right side. She slowly turned… to find her friends, hanging from the gutter by nooses. Their feet, tapping against the wall as they hung, was what provided the knocking sound. Before she could react or move, she was taken and hung right by her friends, her screams drowned out by the thunder. They were found a week later and buried together, but they never did find the killer." Momiji turned off the flashlight at the end.

A long silence came next… followed by a light knocking sound. The color drained from everyone's faces. Tohru fainted again.

"C-Cut it out Momiji, now it's getting too creepy!" Kagura's voice whimpered from somewhere within the darkness.

"I-I'm not doing anything, I swear!" Momiji cried, grabbing onto Haru in fear.

"This is ridiculous, I'm opening the door. Poor Tohru's scared to death." Kyo muttered, although his voice held a slight tremor. He hesitated before grabbing the handle firmly and sliding the door open. Everyone squinted as a pool of sunlight flowed in, a shadowed figure in the middle of it. Everyone held their breath, as if expecting whomever it was to bring out the nooses right then and there.

But instead a singsong voice burst out. "OI, Why's everyone sitting here in the dark? The rain's let up! Let's take the summer romance outside, no need to play dirty games in here!" Shigure was grinning at them

Kyo immediately punched him in the face.

"What was that for?" Shigure whined.

"For making Tohru faint." Kyo grumbled.

* * *

"Kureno. Can you… fetch Shigure for me? He's in the main vacation home just down the path from here." Akito asked Kureno almost hesitantly. She lay out on the back porch of her exclusive summer home tracing the wooden floorboards under her soft fingertips. She wondered if it showed on her face that she'd been crying the night before. 

"That won't be necessary." A deep voice came from behind her, and she knew instantly that it did not belong to Kureno. She turned around to see Shigure leaning on the doorframe where she thought Kureno had been. "What does my goddess want today?"

"Cut the crap, Shigure, it's irritating." She growled. She sat up straight and fixed her kimono. "I just wanted to ask you something."

Shigure joined her on the porch. "Ask away."

Akito pulled her knees in and hugged them, looking distantly out into the garden. "Does Honda Tohru remind you of anyone?"

Shigure paused before shrugging. "Not really, why?"

"I don't know… but it's annoying how every time I see her, I start to remember things I did with… father." Akito confessed, hardly believing she was saying such things to Shigure, of all people. He would probably laugh in that eerie way he always would.

There was a long silence filled with the chirping of birds and rustling of trees in the wind before Shigure finally spoke. "I don't know much about our previous god but… Tohru-kun does have that effect on people. It's like… in a unique way; to everyone she becomes most dear. Whether it be a mother, a big sister, a lover, a friend… even a daughter, she finds some way to worm into peoples hearts. Even me… every time I look at her smiling face, I feel guilty." Akito snorted and Shigure continued insistently. "No, really! That girl puts such utmost trust into me… the kind I don't deserve at all. She actually believes I'm a good person. It could make a demon feel guilty."

"Why… aren't I like that Shigure? Why doesn't everybody instantly love me? Even with the bond… the first chance they got with Honda, they fled. It makes me hate her so much." Akito said through gritted teeth, fists clenching.

Shigure chuckled. "Jealousy is a strange thing, isn't it?"

"But… I don't understand why it has to be this way…" Akito pouted. "We were supposed to all be together forever, loving each other and no one else… why are they leaving to places where I can't reach them?"

Shigure threw back his head and laughed, and Akito scowled, thinking about how stupid it was to confide in this jerk. He finally recovered and gasped. "Excuse me… sorry about that… it's just that… you really are just like a child, Akito. You know nothing outside of what you want and what is safe for you. And you're incredibly spoiled."

Shigure could feel the rage building up next to him and smiled, wrapping an arm around Akito's shoulder and pulling her close, pointing out into the garden. It would prevent bloodshed. "Do you see that, Akito?" she just blinked and he continued. "There's a world outside of this house and this curse. Have you ever thought it might be a nice place? I know it seems so big and full of unknown but… doesn't it look so much brighter out there?"

A long silence followed as they watched the sunlight stream into the garden from their shaded view on the porch. He looked down at Akito to find tears dripping silently from her cheeks. "Take me there, Shigure." She whispered before burying her face in her hands, crying. "I want… to get out of here!"

* * *

"You guys, you guys, come on, quickly! The sun's already setting, lets bring out the firecrackers!" Momiji exclaimed excitedly.

Night fell upon them as their last day at the summer home ended with a bang (of a different sort). Firecrackers crackled outside and the wonderfully starry sky was lit with the sparks of their fireworks. It was even more fun and lively with a larger group, laughter and shouting echoing through the field.

Machi watched the spectacle from afar, eyes shining as the grass swept her ankles. Yuki appeared behind her and placed a hand on her head. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Machi leaned slightly onto his shoulder and smiled ever so slightly. "Yes. I don't think I've had a summer like this one in a long time."

Yuki chuckled. "I don't think any of us have."

A surpisingly cool breeze through, causing Machi to shiver.

"Summer's ending..." Yuki whispered.

Uotani leaned on a tree at the threshold of the forest and the commotion, smiling. "I'm glad you could come around." She appeared to say to thin air. "They're crazy, aren't they?"

"Not as crazy as how much I love you." A voice came from the forest behind her, and her smile grew significantly. In a flash of red hair a hand pulled her into the shadows of the forest.

"Kyo-kun! Look, it's so bright! Like a star!" Tohru laughed, pulling Kyo towards her.

Kyo smiled crookedly before mocking an exasperated sigh. "Come on, Tohru, you saw it last year too."

"Yeah, but it seems brighter this year. If only we had a shooting star, the night would be perfect!" Tohru sighed dreamily.

Kyo took the sparkler from her hand and raised it above their heads before bringing it down in a swooping motion. "Make a wish."

Tohru closed her eyes and squeezed his free hand. She opened her eyes and leaned back against him.

"What did you wish for?" Kyo asked, casting away the dying sparkler.

"I can't tell you, it's bad luck!" Tohru teased, grinning.

"Whisper it, and nobody will hear." Kyo winked, pointing to his ear.

Tohru leaned up. "I wished that you could be free. If not forever… for as long as possible…" She whispered lightly. "What about you?"

Kyo leaned down and whispered. "To be with you forever, because when I'm with you, I'm free." He gently kissed her cheek, before drawing back and smiling down at her.

She smiled softly in return

* * *

That night was full of last minute packing (or in some cases, frantically stuffing their belongings into their bags) and the next morning, everyone piled reluctantly into their cars.

Shigure had mysteriously disappeared, and not too far away, he and Akito were getting into another car. After sending Kureno home early, the two of them were alone.

Shigure had already scooted into the back seat, and was giving the driver directions (Akito had forbidden Shigure to even attempt driving; lord knows if he even has a license). Akito strayed behind standing next to the car, hand resting on the door.

"Akito, are you coming? I didn't think you liked the outdoors this much!" Shigure teased once he had finished talking to the driver.

Akito blinked up at the sky for a silent moment before replying. "No… it's just that… the sun seems a brighter today…" She said quietly, before reluctantly getting into the car.

Not too far from them, the group of teenagers had gotten into the minivan like before, only this time, Machi sat in the front with Yuki (who had blatantly refused Manabe's whines to drive, after chilling past experiences). As the drove, Yuki's free hand wandered over to grasp Machi's.

"What is it Yuki?" Machi asked.

"Nothing… just thinking… we're not going to forget this summer for a long time, are we?" Yuki replied thoughtfully.

Machi smiled too. "Probably not… a lot has happened."

Yuki smiled. "I know I won't. And neither will anyone else, huh?" He said a little louder.

The rest of the car went into a chorus of "Nope".

A long silent moment passed where no one spoke or moved, as they just gazed out into the landscape ahead, bright sunlight streaming through.

"Hey, Yun-Yun?" Manabe asked softly, the trance still upon them.

"Yeah?" Yuki inquired, smiling.

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!"

* * *

OMG ITS OVER. I CANT BELIEVE ITS OVER. AHHHH! (runs in circles sobbing) Ok, this fic is my baby, and thanks to all of you who read it. Please review, even if you haven't before! I hope you enjoyed this fic, I know I love it! 


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